PINE BLUFF -- A kick-off ceremony marked the official start of remodeling work for a new $6 million UAMS Family Medical Center in the Jefferson Professional Building II on the northwest corner of West 40th Avenue and Mulberry Street in Pine Bluff.

University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Chancellor Cam Patterson, M.D., Jefferson Regional Medical Center officials and UAMS officials received construction hard hats to mark the start of the remodeling of 33,000 square feet of space on the first two floors of Jefferson Professional Center II. The renovated facility will provide space for the merger of UAMS' three Pine Bluff clinics along with the physician residency program at the UAMS South Central Regional Campus.

UAMS South Central and the Family Medical Center-Pine Bluff are showing that their commitment to patients, enhancing the patient experience and improving health outcomes will continue well into the future according to Patterson.

UAMS will lease the space from Jefferson Regional, repaying the cost of the remodeling over the next 20 years and reimbursing the Jefferson Hospital Association, which operates the hospital.

The UAMS South Central residency program for training new physicians graduated its first class in 1981 and has 30 in the program today. Since 1981, more than 365 resident physicians have completed family medicine training at UAMS South Central and Jefferson Regional.

In addition to Patterson and Deal, others at the groundbreaking included Sterling Moore, MBA, vice chancellor for UAMS Regional Campuses; Brian Thomas, Jefferson Regional Medical Center CEO; Toni Middleton, M.D., UAMS South Central Residency Program director; and Phil McNeil, assistant vice chancellor for UAMS Campus Operations.

The construction is scheduled to be complete before the end of the year with the physician residents moving into the renovated space in mid-January. The architects are Witsell, Evans, Rasco of Little Rock. The general contractor is Clark Contractors of Little Rock.

The Family Medical Center-Pine Bluff provides primary care medical services to patients of all ages -- including pediatric care, treatment of immediate medical needs and ongoing management of chronic conditions such as asthma, diabetes, hypertension and arthritis. The clinic provides convenient diagnostic and support services on site and minor surgical procedures.