Thomas Keith Smith, 37, was born on December 27, 1981 in West Memphis. He died on October 12, 2019, hours after Mindy Harris died on the same day.

 He leaves to mourn his loss, his parents, Kay and Danny Smith of Horseshoe Lake, Arkansas; his three sons, Bryan Steven Smith of Wynne, Arkansas, Kieran Alexandre Smith of Horseshoe Lake, Arkansas, and Hunter Farley of Marion, Arkansas, the son of Mindy Leigh Harris. He also leaves behind his brother, Jeremy Smith (Alex) of Marion, Arkansas; his paternal grandmother, Mary E. Smith of Hughes, Arkansas, as well as additional family and friends.

He was preceded in death by his maternal grandparents, Patricia A. Woodward of Alabama, Tomiko Snyder of Georgia, Kenneth L. Snyder of Georgia and his paternal grandfather, Steven G. Smith.

 In lieu of flowers, the family request donations to be made to LeBonheur Children’s Hospital, East Arkansas Community College, Allied Health Scholarship Fund or Marion Paws Program.

 Visitation

Roller-Citizens Funeral Home

201 North Pine Street

West Memphis, AR 72301

10/19/2019 at 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM

Service

Funeral Service

Roller-Citizens Funeral Home Chapel

201 Pine

West Memphis, AR 72301

10/19/2019 at 1:00 PM

Darren Wayne Cowley, 33, of Simms, Texas passed away Tuesday, October 8, 2019 in De Kalb, Texas.

Darren was born August 28, 1986 in Texarkana, Texas to Robert DeWayne Cowley and Linda Gail Cowley. He was a Paramedic with LifeNet and an Instructor of Emergency Services for Texarkana College. He was a member of Brothers Keepers Motorcycle Club and Avery First Baptist Church.

He is preceded in death by grandparents, Dewie Davis and Lloyd and Sylvia Cowley; one son, Walter DeWayne Cowley; and one sister, Kaitlyn Hollowell.

He is survived by his wife, Taniesha Kennedy of Simms, Texas; his parents, Robert and Melanie Cowley of De Kalb, Texas and Linda Cowley of Avery, Texas; grandmother, Alma Davis of Avery, Texas; four sons, Cole Cowley of Lufkin, Texas, William Cowley of Lufkin, Texas; Wallace Cowley of Longview, Texas, and Jedediah Cowley of Longview, Texas; five daughters, Sylvia Cowley of Lufkin, Texas, Emma Bihary of Texarkana, Texas, Brayli Roberson of Longview, Texas, Rylee Ketchum of Simms, Texas and Hannah Ketchum of Simms, Texas; one brother and sister-in-law, James Cowley and Lindsey Book of New Boston, Texas; one aunt and uncle, Theresa and Rocky Pierce of Shreveport, Louisiana; cousins Jessica and Dennis Williams of Shreveport, Louisiana; and numerous other family members and friends.

Services will be 3:00 P.M. Saturday, October 12, 2019 at Bates Family Funeral Home in De Kalb, Texas with Rev. Harold D. Lambert and Bro. Bud Callaway officiating. Interment will follow at Old Union Cemetery in Simms, Texas.

Visitation will be held 2:00 P.M. to 3:00 P.M. Saturday, October 12, 2019 at Bates Family Funeral Home in De Kalb, Texas.

You probably have heard the old statement from Benjamin Franklin that “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

Did you know the Arkansas Department of Health offers a new program called Be Well Arkansas to help your patients prevent heart attack and stroke? This can be part of your hospital discharge planning process to give out cards provided to you with information on the Be Well Arkansas program to your patients (particularly those who just had a stroke or heart attack) for how they may access these tools. These resources are aimed at improving your patients’ health including controlling blood pressure, managing diabetes and quitting using tobacco. If you are interested in receiving free cards to give to patients (see attachment #1) on the Be Well Arkansas program (seeattachment #1) just send an email with your request to adh.tpcp@arkansas.govand you will receive them!

By giving these cards to your patients, you will connect them with a large number of resources they can access from the state including:

·        1-800 Number – By calling the following number, patients can be connected with resources on not only quitting using tobacco, but also on blood pressure control and management of diabetes:1-833-283-WELL (see attachment #2)

·        Online – The following web site has various resources such including receiving help through online chat and accessing cell phone applications to help address health risk factors:www.bewellarkansas.org

·        Lifestyle Coaches – These coaches are available in every region of the state to help patients eat healthy, be physically active, and manage stress

·        Hypertension Nurse Managers – Some local health units have care managers to help manage high blood pressure

·        Medication Therapy Management (MTM) – Many pharmacies offer the MTM program to help make sure patients are getting the best results out of medicines  for conditions such as high blood pressure or diabetes

If you have any questions please let me know. Or you can reach out to Alicia Neppl, ADH Cessation Section Chief, who is an expert on these resources atAlicia.Neppl@arkansas.gov  Best, Dave

p.s. If you click here you will see a 2 minute TV news story on the Be Well Arkansas program:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoFsWxm6_hs&t=42s

David A. Vrudny, CPHQ, MPM, MPH(c)

Section Chief, Stroke and STEMI

Arkansas Department of Health

4815 West Markham Street, Slot #14

Little Rock, AR  72205-3867

(501) 661-2096 (office)

(501) 786-6018 (cell)

(501) 280-4207 (fax)

David.Vrudny@arkansas.gov

Attachments:

Be Well Postcard – English – rev 4.15.19

One-Pager – English – Be Well One Pager

Welcome!

On behalf of the Arkansas Office of Emergency Medical Services and the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians, we would like to welcome you to this new partnership between our organizations.

Please carefully read the information below. Most Arkansas EMS providers belong to one of these three scenarios. For those who aren’t, please contact the National Registry via the phone number or email provided at the bottom of this email.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN TO YOU?

I am Nationally Certified.  Since you are currently certified with the National Registry, you will not need to take any action. Continue to use your existing account with the National Registry as you have been doing.

 Next steps: There are no additional steps for you currently.

I was Nationally Certified, but my certification has expired.  Good news! Arkansas is participating in the Mark King Initiative which allows former Nationally Certified EMS providers an opportunity to regain National Certification without testing. More information about the Mark King Initiative can be found here.

   Next steps: 

1. Beginning 10/1/19, log in to your existing National Registry account.

2. Apply for the Initiative under your “Candidate” role by selecting the Mark King Initiative menu option.

3. Pay the current recertification fee: EMR $15.00, EMT/AEMT $20.00, Paramedic $25.00.

I have never been Nationally Certified.  We’ve created a National Registry Claim Account process for you to utilize the National Registry’s online education platform. Moving forward, you will be tracking education requirements equivalent to National Registry certification.

Next steps: 

1. The “Claim Account” process will be available to eligible AR providers beginning 12/1/2019.

2. You will receive email notification prior to 12/1/2019 with additional detailed steps for claiming your account.

If you have questions about your National Registry account or the Mark King Initiative, please contact National Registry Registrant Services at (614) 888-4484 or via the ‘Contact Us’ page located HERE.  For all other questions, please contact the Arkansas Section of EMS at (501) 661-2262.

We are excited about this partnership and look forward to continuing excellent patient care in Arkansas

Sincerely,

The National Registry Team

Paramedic Opportunity. Full-Time position with Vital Link EMS located in the beautiful foothills of the Ozark Mountains (Batesville, Arkansas). Wonderful quality of life as well as numerous outdoor activities. Great schools.  **Sign-On Bonus**  Applications are available at www.vitallinkems.org or can be picked up at Vital Link, 1033 EMS Dr., Batesville, AR 72501. Vital Link is an EOE.

Traumatic Brain Injury Program Seeks Input Through Online Survey, Workshops

Aug. 15, 2019 | To gather public input from brain injury survivors and better provide for their needs, the Traumatic Brain Injury State Partnership Program is reaching out  through an online needs assessment survey and a series of regional workshops.

The program is supported by the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Institute for Digital Health & Innovation through a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Community Living, and a matching grant from the Arkansas Department of Health.

Information gathered through the survey, and the workshops will be reviewed for inclusion in the Arkansas State Plan for Traumatic Brain Injury. There is no closing date to provide information for the plan. Online needs assessments are available on the program’s website at:  TBI State Partnership Program.

The workshops are being done with assistance from the TBI Advisory Board Workgroup, comprised of representatives from many agencies and organizations and those living with brain injuries. The TBI Advisory Board Workgroup meetings are open to the public. The next meeting will be held on Nov. 12.

So far, regional events have been held in Batesville and Springdale. Program director Terri Imus, B.S.N., said that over the next year, additional workshops are planned across the state to allow face-to-face engagement with more of the traumatic brain injury survivor community. Additional support resources, such as a program to document the life experiences of those living with brain injuries and an online support group, are being developed.

The regional events include networking opportunities, education, telemedicine demonstration, and resources, including Smart 9-1-1, service dogs, and life experiences shared by people living with brain injuries.

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. It is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. 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.

From: Serena Leigh Krone‎

Please let me introduce you to our amazing keynote speaker for our upcoming event.

Tickets can be purchased online at www.eventbrite.com or you can reach out to me or any other HBL team member. Table sponsorships are available for $450 and includes 10 tickets and a personalized copy of Shilo’s book “Steel Will” and you will be able to meet and take photos with Shilo at the meet and greet. Please talk with your respective departments about getting a table and come out and have a blast supporting the needs of our First Responders’. Let me know if you have any questions at all!