Townsend Honored as Arkansan of the Year
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Roxane A. Townsend, M.D. (photo from Arkansas Life magazine)
Dec. 4, 2014 | Roxane A. Townsend, M.D., vice chancellor for Clinical Programs and chief executive officer of UAMS Medical Center, was one of eight Arkansans of the Year recently named by Arkansas Life magazine, a publication of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, for “moving this great state forward – and who inspire us all to be better.”
Townsend came to UAMS in February 2013 and talked with the publication about her first 22 months in Arkansas. Described as “a nurse-turned-doctor-turned-hospital administrator who’s a survivor of both the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and rough-and-tumble Louisiana state politics,” the article compares her Louisiana experience to her tenure at UAMS, with both requiring balancing a teetering medical institution.
Townsend was honored for her work to bring the hospital back to financial health and enabling employees to get raises for the first time in three years by expanding services, recruiting new faculty, establishing primary care clinics in more accessible neighborhood locations, and creating a patient- and family-centered culture.
Other honorees were Marcy Doderer, president and CEO of Arkansas Children’s Hospital; Chad Alligood, curator at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art; Jody Hardin, founder of St. Joseph Farm; Stephanie Harris, founder of Women Lead Arkansas; State Senator David J. Sanders; Michael Bearden, artistic director of Ballet Arkansas; and Johnecia Howard, dean of students and athletic director at eStem Public Charter School.
The full article is available online.