Parkey Named Incoming Executive Director for St. Bernards Medical Group

JONESBORO — Lydia Parkey of Jonesboro has been named incoming executive director for St. Bernards Medical Group, the area’s largest voluntary association of physicians.

A 2005 graduate of Samford University in Birmingham, Ala., she has a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism and mass communications. Parkey recently moved to Jonesboro from Washington, D.C., where she worked for eight years on Capitol Hill, most recently as the director of scheduling for Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV of her home state of West Virginia. In Jonesboro, she has worked in the office of the president and CEO of St. Bernards Healthcare.

Parkey is active in the community as a member of the Downtown Jonesboro Association, the St. Bernards Advocates, the Jonesboro Young Professionals Network and the St. Bernards Women’s Council.

Her husband, Justin, is a Jonesboro native and is an attorney at Waddell, Cole & Jones, PLLC. The Parkeys are members of Southwest Church.

Advanced Practice Nurse Joins Sparks Adult Medicine Specialists

FORT SMITH – Elaine Thrift, MSN, APN, FNP-BC, has joined Sparks Health System.

Thrift specializes in Endocrinology and has extensive experience in the treatment of patients with Type I and Type II Diabetes, including insulin pump management and thyroid disorders. Thrift also has more than 25 years of experience in nursing and caring for residents of the River Valley.

In her free time, the Mulberry, Ark., native enjoys running and training for half-marathons and spending time with her family.

Thrift will see patients alongside Doctors Charles and Holly Jennings, Jon Harper, and Richard Hinkle, Jr., at Adult Medicine Specialists. For more information on the services the clinic provides, please call (479) 709-DOCS.

Change of Leadership for Cooper Clinic

FORT SMITH - A change of leadership has been announced for the physician-owned medical group, Cooper Clinic, P.A. Douglas J. Babb, CEO, has chosen to retire at the end of the year, and Curtis Ralston, Chief Operating Officer, has been named as his successor.

The announcement was made by Michael Callaway, MD, current President of the Board of Directors, and Daniel Mackey, MD, incoming Board President.

Babb had advised the Board of Directors earlier this year of his intent to retire and has worked with Board members to implement an orderly succession plan.

Babb assumed the CEO position in July, 2007. His history of leadership included serving as Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative and Legal Officer at Beverly Enterprises and Senior Vice President at the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation.

Ralston, a CPA and native of Oklahoma, joined Cooper Clinic in 2011 as Chief Financial Officer. He most recently served the group as Chief Operating Officer. Ralston earned his Master’s and Bachelor’s Degrees in Accounting from Oklahoma State University and has 19 years of accounting experience, including nine years in CFO positions in the healthcare industry. He and his wife, Brent, have two children.

Otolaryngologist Alissa Kanaan Joins UAMS

LITTLE ROCK – Alissa Kanaan, MD, an otolaryngologist, has joined the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) and will see patients at the Ear, Nose and Throat Clinic in the Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute.

Kanaan, an instructor in the Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery in the UAMS College of Medicine, offers endoscopic nasal and sinus surgery and treatment for chronic sinusitis, nasal obstruction and fungal sinusitis.

She received her medical degree at the American University of Beirut in Beirut in 2007, where she also did an internship in general surgery in 2008 and residency in otolaryngology-head and neck surgery in 2012. She completed a fellowship in pediatric otolaryngology-head and neck surgery at McGill University Montreal in Quebec, Canada in 2013 and one in rhinology and allergy at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in 2014.

She is a member of the American Rhinologic Society and American Academy of Otolaryngology.

South Central Telehealth Forum to be Held March 2

LITTLE ROCK – The third annual telehealth conference for the Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee region promoting the use of telecommunications technologies to support distance health care will be March 2 at the Hilton Jackson Hotel in downtown Jackson, Mississippi.

The South Central Telehealth Forum is organized by the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Center for Distance Health and the South Central Telehealth Resource Center, which serves Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee. Experts from the region will give presentations, lead discussions and network about telehealth.

The cost is $160 per person. An early bird rate of $135 is available through Feb. 1. For more information and to register, go to learntelehealth.org/sctf2015 and click on “Conference Registration,” or call (855) 664-3450.

Nationally recognized reimbursement expert Nina M. Antoniotti, R.N., M.B.A., Ph.D., will be the keynote speaker. She is the program director of the Marshfield, Wisconsin-based Marshfield Clinic TeleHealth Network. Antoniotti has been involved in the development of national technology and operational guidelines for telehealth standards and has presented at regional and national telehealth and technology conferences in the areas of integration, business plan development, clinical services, evaluation, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and needs assessment.

The conference also will feature nationally recognized speakers and panelists from the South Central region of Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee. Discussion panels will focus on clinical, education, administrative and technical aspects of developing telehealth programs and will demonstrate regional programs.

For more information or to register for a workshop, go to: learntelehealth.org/sctf2015 and click on “PreConference Registration.” The cost is $45 per person.

Several technology vendors and other businesses and organizations also will have booths and exhibitions at the conference. Continuing education credits will be offered.