UAMS Receives Grant from Helena Health Foundation to Support Solid Organ Transplants in Arkansas Delta
| LITTLE ROCK — The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) received a $125,000 grant from the Helena Health Foundation to support the solid organ transplant clinic at UAMS Health East Family Medical Center in Helena-West Helena.
“I want to extend my gratitude to the Helena Health Foundation for their generous philanthropic commitment to benefit the Solid Organ Transplant Program at UAMS,” said Cam Patterson, M.D., MBA, UAMS chancellor and CEO of UAMS Health. “This grant will help elevate transplant care for Phillips County and the surrounding area.”
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 at UAMS Health East Family Medical Center in 2023.
“We are very honored and grateful for the support of the Helena Health Foundation as we provide much needed care to the Arkansas Delta,” 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. “Partnerships like this ensures people throughout Arkansas have access to high quality solid organ treatment.”
The mission of the Helena Health Foundation is to support and improve the public’s well-being and quality of life in Phillips County, especially in health care matters. The foundation awards grants to address community needs in a wide range of charitable activities in health care. It also provides leadership in identifying and addressing community health problems and opportunities.
“We are extremely happy to support UAMS’ mission in expanding access to solid organ transplant treatment in Arkansas, and we are thrilled that Helena Health Foundation is part of the strategy in providing care to the Arkansas Delta,” said Ed Pat Wright, chairman of the foundation’s board. “The recent opening of the UAMS satellite transplant clinic has been a great success for Phillips County and the surrounding area, and we look forward to what future opportunities the partnership with UAMS will bring to the Arkansas Delta.”
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 3,485 students, 915 medical residents and fellows, and seven dental residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 11,000 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.###