Departures — We wish these faculty and staff the best of luck and continued success in their new positions.
Loretta Alexander, MHSA, Research Associate in the Master of Health Administration program at the COPH has accepted a position in long-term care administration with Southern Administrative Services effective in July 1. Ms. Alexander earned her MHSA in 1986 from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. She has been employed at UAMS since July 2010, with five years at COPH. She worked as a Research Associate with Dr. Eudy on the Medicaid Family Planning Waiver Evaluation from 2010 until 2014. During the 2014-2015 academic year, she worked with MHA Program Director Stephen Bowman as Coordinator for the MHA Program self-study in preparation for the CAHME reaccreditation site visit.
Angela Bauer has accepted a position as Residency Coordinator in the College of Medicine Neurology Residency Program. For the past 12 years, she has worked for the UAMS Master of Health Administration program, wearing many hats as she handled myriad aspects of the program’s administration and kept things running smoothly. Two of those years were at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, when the program was located there.
Kenya Eddings, MPH, has accepted a position with the UAMS College of Nursing as an EPIC trainer in Computerized Physicians Orders (CPOE). She has been with UAMS for 19 years, 10 of which were with COPH. At UAMS, she has worked in research – including animal research, STD/teen pregnancy research in children and diabetes and behavioral weight loss research in adults.
Ilias Kavouras, Ph.D., and Marie-Cecile Chalbot, Ph.D., Associate Professor and Instructor, respectively, in the COPH Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, have accepted new positions at the University of Alabama, Birmingham, effective July 1.
ShaRhonda Love, MPH, alumni and long-time research staff of the COPH, has taken a new job at the Arkansas Department of Health as the School Health Director. In her new role, Ms. Love will develop and manage grants, be involved in the development of new programs and policies and oversee the budget and staff of the School Health Section, which is responsible for providing statewide training and technical assistance to school-based health programs. The foci of current programs include school-based wellness centers, Arkansas school nurse consultancy, and prevention of chronic disease and obesity in children.
Ms. Love joined the College in 2004 and is a 2008 MPH graduate. She has served as research staff for several federally funded studies, all of which were obesity-related. They include I’m Ready and Empowered to Actively Change my Health (iREACH) grants 1 and 2, Counseling Older Adults in Cognition and Healthy Eating Strategies (COACHES) and Rejuvenating and Energizing Nutrition Exercise and Weight Loss (RENEW) grants 1 and 2.
“While at the College, I learned a lot about obesity and the risk factors,” Ms. Love said. “I am excited to have the opportunity to take what I learned and utilize it at the Department of Health.”
Publications
Nickolas Zaller, Ph.D., Associate Professor in the COPH Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, is the senior author on a study published last month in The Lancet, “Methadone continuation versus forced withdrawal on incarceration in a combined US prison and jail: a randomised, open-label trial.”
The 2011-2013 study, conducted with 223 prisoners of the Rhode Island Department of Corrections, found that the prisoners who were able to continue in a methadone maintenance-treatment program while incarcerated were significantly more likely to engage in a methadone maintenance treatment program after release, compared to those forced to withdraw from treatment while jailed. No significant differences in adverse events were found at 1-month follow-up after prisoners’ release. To read the study abstract, follow this link.
Honors and Appointments
Paula Roberson, Ph.D., Professor and Chair of the UAMS Department of Biostatistics, has been elected to a three-year term on the Board of Directors for the American Statistical Association (ASA). With members in more than 90 countries, the ASA is the world’s largest community of statisticians. The organization supports excellence in the development, application and dissemination of statistical science in industry, government and academia. Dr. Roberson has been active in the ASA since 1974. Her term will begin in January, 2016.
Bill Golden, M.D., Professor of Medicine at UAMS who holds a secondary appointment in the COPH Department of Health Policy and Management, has been appointed to serve as a member of the guiding committee for the national Health Care Payment Learning and Action Network.
The network, which is under the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), was recently convened to identify payment models and reforms that will lead to better care at lower costs – primarily by tying health care payments not to services but to value and quality of patient outcomes. Dr. Golden, who has been a leader in state and national efforts to move towards payment models that emphasize value over volume, also serves as Medicaid Director for the Arkansas Department of Human Services.