NEW GROUND
The future is bright (and bigger) for Arkansas Children’s. The medical facility recently announced its “largest-ever expansion,” a $318 million project that will bring system-wide changes to both its Little Rock and Springdale locations. Upgrades will include higher bed capacity, an ambulatory surgery center, redesigned clinical spaces and the recruitment of more than 100 new providers and 400 new team members.
“For more than a century, Arkansas Children’s has written the story of cutting-edge pediatric care, expanding access and delivering excellence as we’ve evolved from an orphanage to a hospital to a pediatric health system,” president and CEO Marcy Doderer says. “We are building the future together in this next chapter in our story. The result will define excellence and deliver a healthier tomorrow for the children of Arkansas and the region.”
Learn more at archildrens.org/expansion.
Also in the works:
• Immerse Arkansas broke ground on The Station, its upcoming shelter for ages 18-24 experiencing homelessness and other traumas.
• The Arkansas Regional Innovation Hub will undergo extensive renovations this summer to integrate the Winrock International headquarters and enhance its maker facilities.
• UAMS opened a new urology center in Premier Medical Plaza in west Little Rock.
GIFTS & GRANTS
• Following the March 31 tornado, the Arkansas Foodbank received a $50,000 donation from Landers Auto Group for disaster relief.
• Through its annual ASO Giving Day, the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra far exceeded its initial goal of $140,000 to raise more than $181,200 for live performances and music education.
• Back at UAMS, researchers received a five-year, $15 million grant from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute to study postpartum care to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity. Meanwhile, Dr. Hong-yu Li in with the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute received a $3.19 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to advance therapeutic treatments for certain cancers.
HIGH PRAISE
• The Wolfe Street Foundation received the Community Impact of the Year Award at the fifth annual Small Business Impact Awards.
• Dr. Lawrence Cornett, a professor in the UAMS College of Medicine’s Department of Physiology & Cell Biology and director of the Arkansas IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence program, received the W. Fred Taylor Ph.D. Award in recognition of his contributions to the National Institutes of Health Institutional Development Award (IDeA) program.
BIG MOVES
• Camp Aldersgate added four new staff members: Emma Blosfelds as program coordinator, Marshall Dickey as assistant program manager, Natalie Horton as financial analyst and Ashley Zeiler as registrar and administrative assistant.
• Meagan Bowling Fudge and Brice Sisco have been appointed to the Women’s Foundation of Arkansas board of directors.
• Alison Williams is the new coalitions director for Excel by Eight.
• Rick Selig joined the World Services for the Blind Foundation as director of fundraising and development.
• Home for Healing added Pam Hathaway and Bo Ryall to its board of directors.
• Goodwill Industries of Arkansas named Edie Stewart its senior vice president and chief mission officer.