Little Rock-based University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences plans to sign a co-management agreement with Mena (Ark.) Regional Health System, pending final approval from the Arkansas Department of Health.
The agreement was approved July 14 by the Mena City Council and the Mena Hospital Commissioners.
Under the agreement, Mena Regional will retain ownership of its assets, operations and oversight. Hospital leaders said no immediate changes to patient services, staffing or day-to-day operations are expected.
The partnership will expand access to UAMS specialists, academic programs and clinical research while helping Mena Regional identify operational improvement opportunities.
“We are committed to collaborating with community hospitals to ensure Arkansans have access to high-quality care close to home,” UAMS Chancellor C. Lowry Barnes, MD, said in a July 14 news release. “This co-management agreement with Mena Regional Health System strengthens our shared commitment to improving health outcomes in western Arkansas while enhancing access to the expertise, education and resources that UAMS can provide.”
UAMS and Mena Regional have collaborated for several years on clinical and educational initiatives, including telemedicine services, serving as a UAMS Milk Bank Depot and hosting Mini-MASH camps for local high school students. The organizations also partner with the University of Arkansas Rich Mountain to expand rural healthcare workforce training, with nursing and allied health students completing clinical rotations at Mena Regional.
The agreement marks UAMS’ latest effort to expand its clinical footprint across Arkansas. In June, the academic health system announced plans to lease and operate Encore Medical Center, a 53-bed hospital in Bryant, Ark., beginning Oct. 1. It also recently reached a co-management agreement with Helena (Ark.) Hospital, which is awaiting state approval.
UAMS said the Helena agreement also allows the rural emergency hospital to retain its assets and operations while gaining greater access to the academic system’s specialty care, education and research resources.
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