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Cam Patterson, M.D., MBA, and Lyle Burdine, M.D., Ph.D., (on right) receive the ceremonial check from Kim Moseley, MSW, and Kevin Lee.
Image by Evan Lewis
UAMS Receives Grant from Mid-America Transplant Foundation to Support Kidney Health Access in Northeast Arkansas
| LITTLE ROCK — The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) received $145,000 from the Mid-America Transplant Foundation to increase patient access to health care, particularly kidney health interventions, in largely rural counties in northeast Arkansas.
“I am truly grateful for Mid-America Transplant’s commitment to patient navigation in northeast Arkansas,” said Cam Patterson, M.D., MBA, UAMS chancellor and CEO of UAMS Health. “This philanthropic investment will aid Arkansas residents who need solid organ transplants, as well as help others stay healthy through preventative programs.”
UAMS is home to Arkansas’ only adult kidney and liver transplant center. UAMS performed the state’s first kidney transplant in 1964 and the state’s first liver transplant in 2005. The UAMS Organ Transplant team has performed more than 1,800 kidney transplants and more than 400 liver transplants. UAMS opened a satellite clinic for UAMS Health’s kidney and liver transplant program at UAMS’ Northeast Regional Campus in 2021.
“UAMS is grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with Mid-America Transplant to improve access to transplantation in the Northeast portion of our state for our patients,” said Lyle Burdine, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of transplant surgery and director of Organ Transplant in the College of Medicine Department of Surgery.
“Part of the purpose of the Mid-America Transplant Foundation is to reduce the need for transplantation through preventative health programs and to support transplant recipients in experiencing the best possible outcomes,” said Kevin Lee, president and CEO at Mid-America Transplant. “We believe UAMS’ outreach in northeast Arkansas will connect more people to preventative care services and critical treatments like kidney dialysis, as well as better assist those patients with end stage renal disease who are navigating the transplant process.”
Mid-America Transplant enables adults and children to receive lifesaving gifts through organ and tissue donations. For 50 years, it has facilitated and coordinated organ, tissue and eye donation, and now serves 84 counties covering eastern Missouri, southern Illinois and northeast Arkansas that together are home to 4.7 million people. It saves lives by providing expert and compassionate care for organ donors, recipients, and families, and transforms the clinical processes required to recover and transplant organs and tissues. Mid-America Transplant was the first such organization in the U.S. to use an in-house operating room for organ recovery and pioneered innovative models of increasing donor registry enrollment to provide organs and tissues to those in need. It is federally designated as one of 56 such organizations in the U.S. and is the first organ procurement organization to be recognized as a recipient of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award for Performance Excellence, and the only two-time recipient.
UAMS is the state’s only health sciences university, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; a hospital; a main campus in Little Rock; a Northwest Arkansas regional campus in Fayetteville; a statewide network of regional campuses; and eight institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, Psychiatric Research Institute, Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging, Translational Research Institute, Institute for Digital Health & Innovation and the Institute for Community Health Innovation. UAMS includes UAMS Health, a statewide health system that encompasses all of UAMS’ clinical enterprise. UAMS is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has 3,275 students, 890 medical residents and fellows, and five dental residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 12,000 employees, including 1,200 physicians who provide care to patients at UAMS, its regional campuses, Arkansas Children’s, the VA Medical Center and Baptist Health. Visit www.uams.edu or uamshealth.com. Find us on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube or Instagram.###