Arkansas Children’s Honors Arkansas Physicians at Ruth Olive Beall Awards

April 26, 2019

Community leaders and physicians who have advanced pediatric health care shined Thursday evening at Arkansas Children’s annual recognition ceremony, the Ruth Olive Service Awards & Honors.

LITTLE ROCK, ARK. (April 25, 2019) – Community leaders and physicians who have advanced pediatric health care shined Thursday evening at Arkansas Children’s annual recognition ceremony, the Ruth Olive Service Awards & Honors.

Held at the Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock, the ceremony recognized the tireless effort and dedication of physicians with signature awards.

Ruth Olive Beall Award: Ashley Ross, MD, Neonatology section chief for Arkansas Children’s Hospital and an associate professor of Pediatrics, Neonatology/Perinatology at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) College of Medicine. This award of highest distinction goes to a physician who consistently displays the Arkansas Children’s core values of Safety, Teamwork, Compassion and Excellence.

Drs. Joanna J. & Robert W. Seibert Award: ACH Allergy & Immunology Clinic and the Arkansas Children’s Hospital Emergency Department. This honor is awarded to a physician, clinical service, section or unit displaying outstanding teamwork. It is named for physicians who epitomized and promoted teamwork at ACH.

Dr. Tom Ed Townsend Award: R. Alan Lucas, MD, of Arkansas Pediatrics of Conway.

This honor is given to an Arkansas community physician who has provided excellence in healthcare and been a consistent supporter of ACH.

The Dr. Robert H. Fiser, Jr. Research Achievement Award: Richard C. Kurten, PhD, co-director of the Lung Cell Biology Laboratory at the Arkansas Children’s Research Institute and a professor of Physiology and Biophysics at UAMS. This honor is awarded to an ACRI research scientist who has distinguished himself or herself through extraordinary scientific research that will have a lasting impact on the health, development, and well-being of children and their families.

Ruth Olive Beall was the second superintendent of Arkansas Children’s Home and Hospital. Under her leadership, ACH weathered the storm of the depression, made record progress and laid the foundation for becoming a statewide children’s healthcare system.

About Arkansas Children’s

Arkansas Children's, Inc. is the only healthcare system in the state solely dedicated to caring for Arkansas' 710,000 children, giving the organization a unique ability to shape the landscape of pediatric care in Arkansas and transform the health of children throughout the region. The private, non-profit organization includes two pediatric hospitals, a pediatric research institute and USDA nutrition center, a philanthropic foundation, a nursery alliance, statewide clinics, and many education and outreach programs.

Arkansas Children’s Hospital (ACH) is a 336-bed, Magnet-recognized facility in Little Rock operating the state’s only Level I pediatric trauma center; the state's only burn center; the state's only Level IV neonatal intensive care unit; the state's only pediatric intensive care unit; the state’s only pediatric surgery program with Level 1 verification from the American College of Surgeons; and the state's only nationally recognized pediatric transport program. Additionally, ACH is nationally ranked by U.S. News & World Report in five pediatric subspecialties (2019-2020): Cardiology & Heart Surgery, Nephrology, Neurology & Neurosurgery, Orthopedics and Pulmonology. Arkansas Children’s Northwest (ACNW), the first and only pediatric hospital in the Northwest Arkansas region, opened in Springdale in early 2018. ACNW operates a 24-bed inpatient unit; a surgical unit with five operating rooms; outpatient clinics offering over 20 subspecialties; diagnostic services; imaging capabilities; occupational therapy services; and Northwest Arkansas' only pediatric emergency department, equipped with 30 exam rooms. Generous philanthropic and volunteer engagement has sustained Arkansas Children's since it began as an orphanage in 1912, and today ensures the system can fundamentally transform the health of children in Arkansas and beyond. To learn more, visit archildrens.org.

About Arkansas Children’s Research Institute

ACRI is a free-standing state-of-the-art pediatric research center which provides a research environment on the ACH campus to foster research and scholarship of faculty members of University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences who are investigating questions relative to development, disease and treatment as it relates to the health of infants, children and adolescents. Physician and biomedical scientist investigators at ACRI and the Arkansas Children's Nutrition Center (ACNC) conduct clinical, basic science, and health services research for the purpose of treating illnesses and preventing disease and thereby, improving the health of the children of Arkansas and beyond.

About UAMS

UAMS is the state’s only health sciences university, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; hospital; a main campus in Little Rock; a Northwest Arkansas regional campus in Fayetteville; a statewide network of regional campuses; and seven 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 and Institute for Digital Health & Innovation. UAMS includes UAMS Health, a statewide health system that encompasses all of UAMS’ clinical enterprise including its hospital, regional clinics and clinics it operates or staffs in cooperation with other providers. UAMS is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. U.S. News & World Report named UAMS Medical Center the state’s Best Hospital; ranked its ear, nose and throat program among the top 50 nationwide; and named six areas as high performing — cancer, colon cancer surgery, heart failure, hip replacement, knee replacement and lung cancer surgery. UAMS has 2,727 students, 870 medical residents and five dental residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 10,000 employees, including 1,200 physicians who provide care to patients at UAMS, its regional campuses, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, the VA Medical Center and Baptist Health. Visit www.uams.edu or www.uamshealth.com. Find us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or Instagram.

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