"11 for 2011" Goals

In 2005, UAMS Chancellor I. Dodd Wilson, working with the campus leadership who make up the Chancellor’s Cabinet, developed a list of long-range goals for UAMS.

“We set out to think about the health care needs of Arkansas and how we can meet them,” Wilson said. “By achieving these goals, we can make a lasting impression on the health of all Arkansans.”

Each of the goals, Wilson said, are linked by a common thread – their importance to helping UAMS meet its patient care, education, research and community outreach missions.

1. Improve the health of Arkansans

2. Educate and retain graduates in numbers sufficient to meet the majority of Arkansas’ health care workforce needs.

3. Increase the number of Arkansans reached by UAMS educational and patient care programs.

4. Demonstrate a) excellence in patient quality, safety, and satisfaction; b) responsible growth of all clinical services; c) improved patient access; and d) optimal cost effectiveness.

5. Complete present construction projects by 2008. Begin and complete additions to the Arkansas Cancer Research Center, Reynolds Institute on Aging, Biomedical Research Center and educational facilities.

6. Develop at least 10 new outstanding, interdisciplinary clinical programs.

7. Increase annual NIH funding received by UAMS faculty to $100 million.

8. Develop a major satellite educational campus.

9. Complete or exceed the $350 million goal of the comprehensive capital campaign.

10. Achieve three months of operating budget in reserves.

11. Recruit and retain a highly qualified, talented UAMS work force.






1. Improve the health of Arkansans
Arkansas ranked among the lowest states in health standards in the 1990s, Wilson noted. Since then, UAMS established the Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health and was involved in the creation of the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement (which focuses on policy research, professional education, program development, and public education and advocacy).

UAMS continues to host seminars and programs across the state providing health information or training for health professionals. UAMS graduates hundreds of new health care professionals each year who work in Arkansas hospitals and clinics. Research at UAMS continues to seek new treatments for cancer, heart disease and problems such as addictions.

“UAMS’ success will ultimately be judged by the overall health of Arkansans,” Wilson said.

2. Educate and retain graduates in numbers sufficient to meet the majority of Arkansas’ health care workforce needs.
"The health problems of baby boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964) have the potential to overwhelm the state’s medical system. We need more health professionals who can assess our needs and meet them," Wilson said. By 2025, Arkansas will have the fifth highest percentage of elderly population in the nation. The elderly population traditional requires more health care and treatment than other age groups.

UAMS is increasing the enrollments in all of its colleges. Historically, UAMS has produced the majority of Arkansas’ doctors, pharmacists and many nurses and other health care professionals. Investing in and expanding UAMS education programs can help meet the state’s future health care work force needs.

3. Increase the number of Arkansans reached by UAMS educational and patient care programs.
"Right now we have more patients than we have openings,” Wilson said. “Through the Area Health Education Centers around the state and distance education, we’re going to do our best to take care of all of the people who need our help in the rural areas of the state.”

UAMS also will look for opportunities to expand the reach of its programs and offerings. The AHECs provide training, continuing education and health information for Arkansas health professionals. The seven regional centers also offer medical treatment and community-based care.

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4. Demonstrate a) excellence in patient quality, safety, and satisfaction; b) responsible growth of all clinical services; c) improved patient access; and d) optimal cost effectiveness.
“We must strive to deliver quality patient care by offering the kind of treatment that we would want for ourselves,” Wilson said. "We want to do the right thing ALL the time, where you make decisions based on diagnosis and therapy."

Wilson said responsible growth comes through making decisions on clinical programs that maximize the ability to reach the most patients with quality care in an efficient and cost-effective manner.

5. Complete present construction projects by 2008. Begin and complete additions to the Arkansas Cancer Research Center, Reynolds Institute on Aging, Biomedical Research Center and educational facilities.
This is an essential element to our vision for the campus, with adequate facilities to meet all of our missions.

We are in the midst of the campus’ most significant expansion effort to date with about $250 million in projects including a hospital addition, the Psychiatric Research Institute, a new residence hall, an expansion of the Jones Eye Institute, a new parking deck and a utility services building. We also are assisting the state through construction of a new state hospital.

As these projects near completion, we hope to be embarked on much-needed expansions to the ACRC and Institute on Aging as well as our research and education facilities. “We must have the facilities to support the talented individuals and growing programs that we have or our ability to meet our education, patient care, research and outreach commitments will suffer,” Wilson said.

6. Develop at least 10 new outstanding, interdisciplinary clinical programs.
UAMS is home to internationally recognized programs that treats not only patients from Arkansas but also from many foreign countries. The Department of Geriatrics and the Myeloma Institute for Research and Therapy are just two examples of the outstanding clinical programs at UAMS, Wilson said.

“We need to look for opportunities to further develop existing programs or establish new programs at the same level of excellence,” he said. "The establishment of the liver transplant program in 2005 is the newest and marked another example of bringing world class talent to treat patients here at UAMS."

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7. Increase annual NIH funding received by UAMS faculty to $100 million.
Funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has significantly enhanced our research efforts, Wilson said. Research at UAMS is important because it is so often a precursor to new medical treatments to which UAMS patients have early access.

UAMS and its talented researchers have been able to double the amount of NIH funding it receives every five years for the last 20. Federal budget cuts will likely impact NIH grants in the next few years. “This goal remains achievable despite budget cuts as our faculty expands and our clinical programs continue to grow and improve,” Wilson said.

8. Develop a major satellite educational campus.
Simply expanding the UAMS campus cannot provide enough classroom, laboratory and clinical space for graduating new health care professionals to meet the state’s future needs.

"We’re running out of educational opportunities for a number of students. The most effective approach is a satellite campus," Wilson said. A satellite campus in another part of Arkansas would allow UAMS to accept more students.

Factors to be considered when deciding where to locate a satellite campus include the number of potential students in that area and the availability of hospitals and health care facilities. A new campus would need affiliate hospitals and clinics to provide clinical education for students, including new medical residents. Another consideration is whether the clinical affiliates have enough patients to provide a diverse range of medical conditions to observe and treat.

9. Complete or exceed the $350 million goal of the comprehensive capital campaign.
While increased enrollment will mean more funds from student tuition and fees, it is only a fraction of the costs of producing more health care professionals with the associated facility and faculty needs. The ongoing $250 million campus expansion is mostly being funded by a bond issue approved by the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees and from campus revenue. Philanthropic sources and other fundraising – such as the capital campaign – also will play a role, ensuring that we have sufficient funding support to meet our goals, Wilson said.

"Twenty years ago, we were raising less than a million a year, now we raise between $35 million to $40 million annually," he said. UAMS’ seven-year capital campaign will help with this goal, he added.

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10. Achieve three months of operating budget in reserves.
The financial needs of the hospital cannot be overlooked, Wilson said. Striving for cost efficiency will allow stability through the ability to build reserve funds and a basis for continued success in the clinical programs.

"A hospital is a business and it has a very small margin (of profit),” he said. “We’ve got to have reserves to survive and to help (UAMS) over any difficult times. As a non-profit operation, any surplus can bolster our reserves and provide support for continued growth.”

11. Recruit and retain a highly qualified, talented UAMS work force.
UAMS’ ability to fulfill all of the other 10 goals rests with the 11th, Wilson said. "If we don’t have talented people, then we couldn’t do any of the other 10 goals. The better we get, the easier it is to recruit talent and develop a reputation because of that talent base that makes people want to come here.

“Our employees are our talent,” Wilson says. “Our talent makes our programs grow. Our programs make our facilities grow. As UAMS grows, so does our ability to have a lasting impression on the state of health in Arkansas.”

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