UAMS Announces Members of Jefferson Regional Association Board
| LITTLE ROCK — The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) has named six community leaders to the Jefferson Regional Association Board.
UAMS Chancellor C. Lowry Barnes, M.D., will serve as chair of the board.
Joining UAMS Chancellor C. Lowry Barnes, M.D., who will serve as chair of the board, are David R. Bridgforth, George Makris, Toni Middleton, M.D., Chuck Morgan, Scott Pittillo, and Steven Wright, M.D.
“We are very grateful to these community leaders for agreeing to serve on the Jefferson Regional Association Board,” said Barnes. “As someone who grew up in Pine Bluff, this community is so important to me. I am thrilled that Jefferson Regional is joining the UAMS Health System, and I look forward to the wonderful things we will accomplish together.”
In August, UAMS and Jefferson Regional announced a strategic partnership designed to strengthen healthcare delivery throughout the southeast region of the state by expanding access to specialized clinical resources, advanced technologies, and shared operational efficiencies.
David R. Bridgforth is a partner in Ramsay, Bridgforth, Robinson and Raley LLP in Pine Bluff. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from Louisiana Tech University and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law. He is a member of the American Bar Association, Arkansas Bar Association, and the Jefferson County Bar Association.
Bridgforth previously served the board of directors of Jefferson Regional as well as numerous other community boards including, but not limited to, the Economic Development Alliance of Jefferson County, Arkansas, the Jefferson County Industrial Foundation, the Greater Pine Bluff Chamber of Commerce, and the Arkansas State Service Council of the American Red Cross.
George Makris is chairman of MK Distributors Inc. A Pine Bluff native, Makris graduated from Pine Bluff High School before earning his Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration at Rhodes College in Memphis and his MBA at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.
He currently sits on the boards of UA Little Rock, Simmons First Foundation, and Arkansas Champions Trust. He previously served on the Jefferson Regional Board of Directors as well as a member and as chairman of the board of directors for Worthen National Bank – Pine Bluff and its successors.
Toni Middleton, M.D., is an assistant professor in the UAMS Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, who sees patients at the UAMS Health Family Medical Center in Pine Bluff. She also serves as the family practice coordinator and director of the UAMS South Central Regional Campus Family Medicine Residency Program. She earned her medical degree from UAMS.
Chuck Morgan serves as chairman and CEO of Relyance Bank, N.A. and as president and CEO of its privately held holding company, Jefferson Bancshares Inc. A native of Pine Bluff and a graduate of Pine Bluff High School, he received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. He also is a graduate of Southwestern Graduate School of Banking at Southern Methodist University and The ABA Graduate School of Bank Investments and Finance.
In addition to serving on his company’s boards, he serves on the board of the First National Bankers Bank. He was recently appointed to Economic Development Sales Tax Board of Jefferson County. He previously served a 10-year term on the Board of Directors of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas. He also served on the board of directors of Jefferson Regional, including as a past chair, on the Board of The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis-Little Rock Branch, and on the Board of Central Maloney Inc.
Scott Pittillo serves as president of Relyance Bank and senior executive vice president of JBI, where he also serves on the Board of Directors. A native of White Hall, Pittillo graduated with honors from White Hall High School and earned a degree in agricultural business from the University of Arkansas. He also is a graduate of the Southwestern Graduate School of Banking at Southern Methodist University and the Moore School of Investments at the University of South Carolina.
Pittillo has been actively engaged in community leadership throughout Arkansas. He is on the Board of the Arkansas Bankers Association. He is a past chairman of the Jefferson Regional board. He is also involved with organizations including the Jefferson Hospital Association and Fifty for the Future–Pine Bluff. He has served multiple terms on the White Hall School Board, including as president, reflecting a longstanding commitment to education and community development.
Steven Wright, M.D., is the chief medical officer at Jefferson Regional, as well as a nephrologist and internal medicine physician. Additionally, he is on the faculty at the UAMS South Central Regional Campus. He earned his medical degree from Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee.
About Jefferson Regional
Jefferson Regional is a not-for-profit health system located in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Licensed for 300 acute-care beds, the hospital employs roughly 1,500 staff members and 140 on-staff physicians, maintaining an average daily census of 120 patients. As one of the largest employers in Jefferson County, Jefferson Regional serves a primary and secondary market of approximately 225,000 residents across 11 counties in southeast Arkansas.
Beyond its main hospital campus, Jefferson Regional delivers care through a comprehensive range of subspecialty services, two Wellness Centers, an urgent care clinic, 19 physician practice locations, and Jefferson Regional School of Nursing. As a Level 3 Trauma Center, the hospital features an acute care surgery program with 24/7 trauma coverage, ensuring patients have access to critical care when it matters most. Jefferson Regional is also home to the Jefferson Regional Jones-Dunklin Cancer Center, a comprehensive cancer center providing advanced, compassionate cancer care on the main campus in Pine Bluff. Visit www.jrmc.org. Find us on Facebook, and Instagram.
About UAMS
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 seven 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, 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 3,553 students and 1,030 medical residents and fellows, and two dental residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with about 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.###