LITTLE ROCK — Tammy Jones, Ph.D., RN, has been named chief nursing officer and associate vice chancellor for patient care services for UAMS Health at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) after serving in this role in an interim basis for the past several months.

In this role she will be responsible for ensuring quality nursing care at the UAMS Medical Center in Little Rock, outpatient clinics in central Arkansas and regional program sites across the state. She will also be responsible for perioperative services, endoscopy, respiratory care, interventional radiology, imaging services and pastoral care.

“Tammy has played a vital role in our clinical programs for many years, and we’re pleased she has agreed to take on this additional role,” said Michelle Krause, M.D., MPH, senior vice chancellor for UAMS Health and chief executive officer for UAMS Medical Center. “With the nursing staffing issues that health care institutions across the country continue to face, we are fortunate to have a nursing leader who is so well respected by our nursing staff. With her direct patient care experience, Tammy understands the challenges nurses face, and she’s a strong advocate for nurses across UAMS Health.”

Jones joined the UAMS clinical team in 2007 as the magnet program director and led the development of the Center for Nursing Excellence, where she served as senior director until 2018. She was named associate chief nursing officer in 2011 and began serving as the chief perioperative services officer in 2018. Her role expanded to include the Urology Center at Premier Medical Plaza, interventional radiology and imaging services in 2023.

Jones began her career as a staff nurse at St. Edward Mercy Medical Center in Fort Smith then worked in a variety of clinical, management and leadership roles at Conway Regional Health System for 10 years.

At UAMS, she was honored as the first recipient of the Betty Casali Transformational Leadership Award in 2012, named one of the Great 100 Nurses of Arkansas in 2019, and received the inaugural UAMS DAISY Nurse Leader Award in 2021.

Jones earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Central Arkansas in Conway, and a Ph.D. from the UAMS Graduate School in 2009. She also completed the Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner program in the UAMS College of Nursing.