Two weeks ago our daughter Olivia was one of the 157 students who graduated from the UAMS College of Medicine. I have to say, this was one of the proudest Mom moments of my life. I look forward to seeing how much more she learns and grows during her residency in Emergency Medicine here at […]
CNO Corner
Nurses Week at UAMS
Earlier this week Jimmy Kimmel featured a montage of newscasters and meteorologists expressing their dismay that we’ve reached May already. I’m with Todd Yakoubian – I can’t believe it either. Yet, here we are, and the 203rd anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birthday is one week from today. Which means we will be celebrating Nurses Week at […]
Severe Weather
One thing I’ve heard over and over from people who were caught in last week’s tornadoes was how quickly it was over – and how dramatically things changed. We are so fortunate that there were so few injuries and fatalities here in Arkansas. I guess all the elementary school drills and information from our local […]
Thank goodness for vaccines and boosters
1,052 – that’s the number of days from when the first patient tested positive for COVID-19 in Arkansas and when I tested positive a few weeks ago. Like many of you, I was ready to sigh a sigh of relief that I had escaped this virus unscathed, but it wasn’t meant to be. It started with […]
Smiles!
Smiles! Oh how I love seeing them again! I hope this means we have turned the corner and can leave the pain of the past month and the struggles of the past three years behind. January 2023 has to go down as one of the most difficult months in UAMS history. We returned from the holiday […]
Loss
The beginning of 2023 was not the festive celebration I had anticipated, having just learned of the passing of our colleague, UAMS College of Medicine Dean Susan Smyth. Since joining UAMS in March 2021, she supported our nursing programs and worked to enhance communication and collaboration between clinical programs and the College of Medicine. I also lost […]
How can it be December already?!?!?
If you’re like me, you’ve got one question on your mind right now — how can it be December already?!?!? This year seems to have flown by faster than others, and I think one of the reasons is that we’re so excited about opportunities to see each other again. It was SO wonderful to see […]
The world is “waking up” after a long illness
Wow. October was a busy month! But, it was a “good” busy, with our LPN hiring process well underway, recognition of Care Management, Emergency Nurses, MAs, PAs, Respiratory Therapy, Infection Prevention, Physical Therapy, Pharmacy, Healthcare Quality, Health Education and Sterile Processing, our eight “40 under 40” Nurse Leaders, our “Great 100 Nurses in Arkansas,” and […]
When will everything get better?
One of questions many of you are thinking is probably, “When will everything get better?” I’m thrilled to finally be able to answer, “Hopefully very soon!” First, COVID numbers here at UAMS and across Arkansas continue to improve. The Arkansas Department of Health reported earlier this week that 206 people were hospitalized in our state, […]
Three-Year Anniversary as Chief Nursing Officer
Last month marked my three-year anniversary as Chief Nursing Officer. When I stepped into this role, I had been fortunate to work with the amazing UAMS Nursing team for many years, and I was looking forward to working with you on many opportunities, but I had no idea about the challenges ahead. As I have […]