Saint Mary's & Arkansas Children's Nursery Alliance Ribbon Cutting Ceremony with Chamber of Commerce
September 5, 2023
Russellville, AR. (July 26, 2023) – Saint Mary’s Regional Health System has joined the Arkansas Children’s Hospital (ACH) Nursery Alliance in a move that will directly coordinate care between neonatologists at ACH’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and physicians at Saint Mary’s in Russellville. The collaboration elevates neonatal care for the region’s newborns.
An official ribbon cutting ceremony with the Russellville Chamber of Commerce Red Coats was held at Saint Mary’s Regional Health System on Wednesday, July 26th at noon with community members in attendance including Senator Breanne Davis, Mayor Fred Teague, Judge Ben Cross, Members of the Saint Mary’s Board of Trustees, Pediatric, Women’s and Children’s providers and nursing staff, and representative from Arkansas Children’s Hospital were in attendance.
Through the alliance, neonatologists at ACH will provide immediate consultations to the physicians at Saint Mary’s, as well as educational support, quality data review and implementation of best practices. The alliance also provides training through telemedicine for the purpose of enhancing neonatal care and creates support as needed to help the babies at Saint Mary’s or at ACH get the best care possible. Opportunities to track and monitor outcomes and research options are another benefit.
The collaboration addresses one of the state’s most vexing health problems: infant mortality. For every 1,000 babies born in the state, 8 die before their first birthdays.
“However, there is hope,” said Marcy Doderer, President, and CEO of Arkansas Children’s. “You see here today the shared commitment of Saint Mary’s and Arkansas Children’s, and how we plan to change the story for the tiniest of patients. Together, we will improve children’s health in this community, in Arkansas and beyond.”
Arkansas Children’s Hospital operates the state’s only designated Level IV NICU (100 beds), the highest level of acute care, and has access to pediatric specialists from all disciplines.
“Saint Mary’s Regional Health System is excited to expand our partnership with Arkansas Children’s Hospital’ Nursery Alliance. We are committed to ensuring our families can count on Saint Mary’s to deliver high quality care close to home. With this alliance, our OB/GYN and Pediatricians will have additional resources to utilize as they take care of our families here in Russellville, Pope County, and the River Valley,” said Bob Honeycutt, CEO of Saint Mary’s.
Through the Arkansas Children’s Nursery Alliance agreement, ACH will support Saint Mary’s to help ensure the care families count on close to home will continue in the nursery. The arrangement will include formal processes for coordinating care prior to transport, including elevating care to a higher level if a baby’s condition requires it. In addition, families will have access to post discharge follow-up by monitoring and measuring late morbidities through an expanded High Risk Newborn Clinic network.
The neonatal period is specific to the first four weeks after birth (neonate or newborn), a time when changes happen rapidly. Many critical changes can occur in this period: Feeding patterns are established; bonding between parents and infant begin; the risk of infections that may become more serious are higher; and many birth or congenital defects are first noted. This care is usually centered on newborn infants with a range of problems, varying between prematurity, birth defects, infection, cardiac malformations and surgical problems.
ABOUT ARKANSAS CHILDREN’S
Arkansas Children’s, Inc. is the only health care system in the state solely dedicated to caring for children, which allows the organization to uniquely shape the landscape of pediatric care in Arkansas. The system includes a 336-bed hospital in Little Rock with the state’s only pediatric Level 1 Trauma Center, burn center, Level 4 neonatal intensive care and pediatric intensive care, and research institute as well as a nationally-recognized transport service. It is one the 25 largest children’s hospitals in the United States and is nationally ranked by U.S. News World & Report in cardiology/heart surgery, neurology/neurosurgery, nephrology and pulmonology. Arkansas Children’s Northwest in Springdale includes 233,613 square feet of inpatient beds, emergency care, clinic rooms and diagnostic services. Arkansas Children’s also blankets the state with outreach programs that include telemedicine, mobile health and school-based health solutions. A private nonprofit, Arkansas Children’s boasts an internationally renowned reputation for medical breakthroughs and intensive treatments, unique surgical procedures and forward-thinking research and is committed to providing every child with access to the best care available, regardless of location or resources. Founded as an orphanage, Arkansas Children’s has championed children by making them better today and healthier tomorrow for more than 100 years. For more info, visit www.archildrens.org.
