Shock, Lowery and Archer Honored as Health Care Heroes
| Nov. 18, 2015 | Three UAMS physicians were recognized by Arkansas Business as Health Care Heroes during a Nov. 18 luncheon at Embassy Suites in Little Rock.
The awards program honors individuals, companies and organizations that are making significant contributions to providing quality health care in Arkansas.
John P. Shock, M.D., a distinguished professor in UAMS’ Department of Ophthalmology in the College of Medicine and the founding director of the Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, was honored with the first Health Care Heroes’ Lifetime Achievement Award.
“Dr. Shock’s contributions to ophthalmology and UAMS are numerous,” said UAMS Chancellor Dan Rahn, M.D. “This is a well-deserved tribute to an exceptional physician and professor.”
Shock received his undergraduate degree from United States Military Academy at West Point and his medical degree from the Duke University School of Medicine. He then completed an internship and residency in ophthalmology at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington and a fellowship in retinal disease and surgery at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Miami, Fla.
He holds the patents on three surgical instruments that he designed. He also created phacofragmentation, a technique that revolutionized cataract surgery.
Shock oversaw the expansion of the UAMS Ophthalmology Department, the construction of the Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute and its Pat Walker Tower and the foundation of the Leland and Betty Tollett Retinal and Ocular Genetics Center. He is also the first holder of the John P. Shock, M.D., Endowed Chair in Ophthalmology, an honor with which he was vested in 1995.
Two other UAMS doctors received awards at the luncheon. Curtis Lowery, M.D., was named the Innovation Hero, while Lee Archer, M.D., was honored as Physician of the Year.
“UAMS is delighted to see our faculty physicians recognized for the wonderful work that they do,” said College of Medicine Dean Pope Moseley, M.D. “Both Dr. Lowery and Dr. Archer have a passion for medicine and for their patients that pushes them to greatness.”
Lowery is the chairman of the UAMS College of Medicine’s Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the founder and medical director of the UAMS Center for Distance Health.
In 2003, Lowery created ANGELS (Antenatal and Neonatal Guidelines, Education and Learning System), which uses telemedicine technology to connect UAMS’ maternal-fetal specialists with high-risk pregnancy patients and their doctors in rural areas. ANGELS has delivered more than 21,000 high-risk obstetrical telemedicine consultations to rural women, facilitated 5,499 maternal transports to the most appropriate hospitals and provided continuing obstetrics and neonatal education to nearly 17,000 health care professionals.
In touting the ANGELS program, Lowery has said it allows him to “work 100 percent of my time as a high-risk obstetrician caring for patients in the state, no matter where they live.”
The Center also operates several other valuable telemedicine programs, including AR SAVES (Arkansas Stroke Assistance through Virtual Emergency Support), which delivers telemedicine-based neurology consultation for patients presenting in rural emergency rooms with stroke symptoms; TRIUMPH for spinal cord injuries; PsychTLC, which gives primary care providers immediate access to child and adolescent psychiatrists at UAMS and Arkansas Children’s Hospital; and the Trauma Hand Program, which allows hand surgeons to consult on emergency room cases via telemedicine. The Center for Distance Health also operates the Center for Rural Health with 60 sites for care across Arkansas.
Archer, the first MS specialist in Arkansas, has been treating patients for a variety of neurological conditions since 1986 at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, where he also attended medical school and completed his residency. A full professor in the UAMS College of Medicine’s Department of Neurology since 2008, Archer sees more than 1,400 patients a year.
His work with multiple sclerosis has garnered him many accolades, including the National MS Society’s Hope Award and his recent designation by the society as a Partner in MS Care.
In 2007, he was named the inaugural recipient of the Major and Ruth Nodini Endowed Chair in Neurology at UAMS. The chair, which was established with more than $1 million in donations from friends and family members of Archer, all of whom remained anonymous, has allowed the continuation of his research of the disease and treatments of MS patients.
Several of Archer’s patients celebrated his award on Facebook, with Tonya Horton of Benton calling him a “lifesaver.”
Julie Cawthron of Little Rock wrote that “Arkansas is fortunate to have a brilliant, dedicated and caring physician leading the charge in research, finding better treatments and eventually a cure for MS.” She also thanked Archer for encouraging her during her 20-year battle with multiple sclerosis and for serving on the Arkansas Leadership Council for the National MS Society.
Other finalists from UAMS included Gina Drobena, M.D., for Physician of the Year, Zachary Stowe, M.D., for Women’s Health and Wellness Hero and Amir Mian, M.D., for Innovation Hero. UAMS Medical Center was also a finalist for large Hospital of the Year.