UAMS South Celebrates New Magnolia Offices

By Ben Boulden

UAMS South, which includes UAMS Family Medical Center Magnolia and community health education programs, began serving patients there in August, moving from temporary space in another part of the city.

Attending today’s open house were: State Sen. Bruce Maloch of Magnolia; State Reps. David Fielding and Lane Jean, both of Magnolia; Deke Whitbeck, field representative for U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor; Magnolia Mayor Parnell Vann; Michael Fitts, Psy.D., director of UAMS South; Margaret West, Magnolia Regional Medical Center CEO; Mark Mengel, M.D., UAMS vice chancellor of Regional Programs; and Sterling Moore, UAMS assistant vice chancellor of Regional Programs.

“With the new offices in Magnolia, UAMS South and its various programs in the region are even better positioned to continue to maintain strong relationships with area hospitals, county health offices, social service agencies and city and county governments to improve the health of all Arkansans,” Fitts said.

Since its founding in 1979, UAMS South has trained 138 family practice physicians through its residency program. In the last 10 years, it also has trained 248 medical students and 112 students in pharmacy and other health professions. More than 25,283 people have received educational materials through its library in the same time frame.

“The director, faculty and staff of UAMS did an excellent job of establishing a high-quality family medicine rural training track residency that serves as a model for encouraging family physicians to get their training and practice in rural Arkansas,” Mengel said.

UAMS South, through its Family Medical Center and the El Dorado-based Veterans Administration Community-Based Outpatient Clinic, averages 24,000 patient visits each year in hospitals and its offices. In 2012, it provided 14 health screenings for a total of 785 people.

UAMS Family Medical Center – Magnolia, along with other UAMS Family Medical Centers statewide, in 2012 earned national recognition as a patient-centered medical home, empowering their chronically ill patients in directing their care in a way that should improve health outcomes while lowering health costs.

The initial Area Health Education Centers Program, today’s UAMS regional centers, was started in 1973 through the efforts of then-Gov. Dale Bumpers, the Arkansas Legislature and UAMS to train medical residents and provide clinical care and health education services around the state.

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.

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