News from the South - Arkansas News Feed

UAMS will add 22 new residency slots in South Arkansas with $2.5M of state funds

Published

4 months ago

March 26, 2025

arkansasadvocate.com – Tess Vrbin – 2025-03-26 05:00:00

by Tess Vrbin, Arkansas Advocate
March 26, 2025

New residency slots at two South Arkansas hospitals will provide needed medical training and services in that part of the state, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences said last week.

The state’s primary medical school is adding 22 family medicine residency slots because of $2.5 million allocated by the Legislature in February, UAMS announced in a news release.

UAMS will use the money as “start-up funds” for the first three years of the residency programs in Crossett and El Dorado, which includes an obstetrics fellowship, Chancellor Dr. Cam Patterson wrote in the university’s funding request to the Joint Budget Committee’s PEER Review subcommittee. The panel approved the request Feb. 26 with no discussion or dissent, and the full committee approved it the following day.

The number of students graduating from Arkansas medical schools has outpaced the state’s number of residencies in recent years, but Arkansas leaders in medical education have been working to add more slots at hospitals throughout the state.

Most physicians practice in the same state where they complete their residencies, and UAMS sponsors roughly 85% of residencies statewide, said Dr. Molly Gathright, executive associate dean for Graduate Medical Education in UAMS’ College of Medicine.

Arkansas leaders work to close gap between medical school graduates and in-state residencies

The health system announced in May 2023 that it would train residents at the South Arkansas Regional Hospital in El Dorado in partnership with a local nonprofit. Last week’s news release said UAMS plans to obtain accreditation for the El Dorado facility this year and enroll its first residents in the summer of 2026. The Crossett facility enrolled its first residents last year.

“Expanding training opportunities in this region helps address health care needs and strengthens the local workforce,” Gathright said in a statement to the Advocate. “At the same time, every residency program plays a vital role in improving access to care across the state, and our goal is to support a broad distribution of training opportunities to meet diverse community needs.”

In addition to its main Little Rock campus and the Crossett campus, UAMS trains residents at six other regional campuses throughout the state: Batesville, Fayetteville, Fort Smith, Jonesboro, Pine Bluff and Texarkana. A seventh residency program in Magnolia closed in 2022.

Adding medical residencies to a community boosts the local economy, according to a study released this month by Heartland Forward. The Bentonville-based research organization estimates that gradually adding 275 new medical residents over six years — about 46 per year — would create an additional $465 million in economic activity for Arkansas.

Republican U.S. Sen. John Boozman, an optometrist from Rogers, sponsored multiple bipartisan bills during the last session of Congress to create more residency slots nationwide and retain the doctors that train in those positions, particularly in rural areas. The legislation stalled in committee.

UAMS’ Fayetteville and Crossett locations specifically train family medicine specialists to practice in rural areas. Some of Arkansas’ rural counties do not have hospitals, according to the Arkansas Foundation for Medical Care.

GET THE MORNING HEADLINES.

Residents who train in El Dorado and Crossett will be “immersed in south Arkansas-based rural clinical settings,” though they will complete some of their training in Little Rock at both UAMS and Arkansas Children’s Hospital, according to the health system’s announcement last week.

“The current structure of our UAMS sponsored rural training programs — one year in an urban hospital followed by two years at a rural training site — ensures residents gain broad clinical experience while becoming fully immersed in rural practice,” Gathright said. “The hope is that this model increases the likelihood that they will stay and provide care in these communities, improving access for low-income patients and those who must travel long distances for medical services.”

Ashley County, where Crossett is the largest city, had fewer than five full-time primary care physicians per 10,000 people as of 2021, a slight decrease from 2020, according to data from the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement.

Additionally, Arkansas has a shortage of maternal health care providers, particularly in rural areas. Gathright said the obstetrics fellowship funded by the $2.5 million grant will be “crucial to improving access to care” in rural South Arkansas. The fellowship will open July 1 in El Dorado.

The Bradley County Medical Center closed its labor and delivery unit within the past 18 months due to staffing struggles. Bradley County borders both Ashley County and Union County, where El Dorado is the county seat.

Arkansas Advocate is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Arkansas Advocate maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sonny Albarado for questions: info@arkansasadvocate.com.

The post UAMS will add 22 new residency slots in South Arkansas with $2.5M of state funds appeared first on arkansasadvocate.com

Up Next

Federal cuts squeeze already-struggling food banks, school lunch programs

Don't Miss

Arkansas AG rejects proposed ballot measure to amend state’s direct democracy process

News from the South - Arkansas News Feed

Man shot and killed in Benton County, near Rogers

Published

1 day ago

July 11, 2025

Staff Editor

www.youtube.com – 40/29 News – 2025-07-11 21:51:07

SUMMARY: A man was shot and killed late last night in the Beaver Shores neighborhood near Rogers in Benton County. Police identified the victim as 41-year-old Kevin Nikel, who was shot in the abdomen and later died at the hospital. Neighbors described the area as usually peaceful and quiet, expressing shock and concern over the incident. Authorities have not disclosed what led to the shooting or if there are any suspects. The Benton County Sheriff’s Office declined to provide an on-camera interview. Residents say the tragic event has changed the neighborhood’s atmosphere, making them more cautious and uneasy.

Man shot and killed in Benton County, near Rogers

Subscribe to 40/29 on YouTube now for more: http://bit.ly/PTElbK

Get more Northwest Arkansas news: http://www.4029tv.com
Like us: http://facebook.com/4029news
Follow us: http://twitter.com/4029news
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/4029news/

Source

News from the South - Arkansas News Feed

Judge likely to keep Abrego Garcia detained to prevent quick deportation

Published

2 days ago

July 11, 2025

Staff Editor

arkansasadvocate.com – Ariana Figueroa – 2025-07-11 13:14:00

by Ariana Figueroa, Arkansas Advocate
July 11, 2025

GREENBELT, Maryland — U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis seemed inclined during a Friday hearing to grant a temporary restraining order to block the Trump administration from deporting Kilmar Abrego Garcia if he is released from pretrial detention next week.

Xinis said if she granted a temporary restraining order, it would be narrow and would prevent immigration officers from deporting Abrego Garcia from the U.S. It would also keep the longtime Maryland resident at a detention center near Maryland as the immigration lawsuit about the conditions of his deportation under a final order of removal proceeds.

She also upbraided Justice Department attorneys for claiming immigration officials had a detainer on Abrego Garcia, but not producing the document.

The attorneys for Abrego Garcia’s case in Maryland, which was brought after the longtime resident was unlawfully arrested by immigration officials and mistakenly deported to El Salvador in March, are asking Xinis for a 72-hour restraining order if he is released from pretrial detention Wednesday.

Abrego Garcia awaits federal trial in Tennessee on criminal charges lodged while he was mistakenly removed to El Salvador.

The restraining order, if granted, would prevent the Trump administration from removing Abrego Garcia to a third country without proper notice and an opportunity to challenge his removal.

“The concern that we have here is that he’ll be gone in a blink and never to be heard from again,” Andrew Rossman, one of Abrego Garcia’s attorneys, said.

Abrego Garcia detailed psychological and physical torture he experienced at the notorious Salvadoran prison CECOT. The U.S. is paying El Salvador up to $15 million to detain roughly 300 men at the prison.

Prosecution

As soon as Wednesday, Abrego Garcia could be released from pretrial detention on charges that accuse him of human smuggling that stem from a 2019 traffic stop. A hearing is scheduled for Wednesday in Tennessee federal court on an order pausing Abrego Garcia’s release, at his lawyers’ request over concerns the administration could deport him if he is released from jail.

DOJ attorneys have said that the Trump administration intends to deport Abrego Garcia before his trial in Tennessee is complete.

Abrego Garcia has pleaded not guilty to the federal charges. His attorneys have accused President Donald Trump’s administration of using the indictment to save face in light of court orders finding Abrego Garcia’s deportation unlawful and the Supreme Court’s order for the federal government to facilitate his return.

Abrego Garcia has had deportation protections in place since 2019, barring his removal to his native El Salvador due to concerns he would experience gang violence there.

The Trump administration has labeled Abrego Garcia a leader of the gang MS-13, but has not produced any evidence of those allegations in court.

Xinis also raised the concern that Abrego Garcia could face harm in a third country because the Trump administration has labeled him a gang leader.

She raised the possibility that if Abrego Garcia is deported to a third country, that country could then take him to El Salvador.

ICE detainer produced

The Trump administration has placed a detainer on Abrego Garcia upon his potential release, meaning U.S. Marshals would hold him until immigration agents can arrest him and take him into custody.

Xinis has repeatedly asked DOJ lawyers for a copy of the detainer to determine what statue Abrego Garcia is being detained on.

DOJ attorneys said they were still working on it and Xinis slammed them for not producing it and said she wouldn’t take the DOJ’s word that the detainer even existed.

“You have taken the presumption of regularity and you’ve destroyed it, in my view,” Xinis said.

Halfway through the hearing, DOJ attorney Sarmad M. Khojasteh produced the detainer and gave a copy to Abrego Garcia’s lawyers, who have also been asking for a copy of the form.

Rossman said the detainer “has a massive hole in it.”

He said that according to the detainer, the reason for holding Abrego Garcia is a final order of removal.

However, a top Immigration and Customs Enforcement official testified Thursday that because Abrego Garcia is not in removal proceedings yet, the federal government cannot detail what actions it will take in removing him.

“We have an obvious chicken-and-egg problem,” Rossman said.

DOJ argument ‘defies reality’

Thomas Giles, ICE’s assistant director for enforcement and removal operations who testified Thursday, could not detail which track the Trump administration planned to take for Abrego Garcia. The agency is likely to try either deporting him to a third country or challenge the bar on removal to El Salvador.

Xinis also expressed doubt that the Trump administration has not had conversations on what to do about Abrego Garcia, given the high-profile nature of the case.

Khojasteh said that an immigration officer would determine next steps for Abrego Garcia.

“It defies reality that this is going to be left to a desk officer,” Xinis said.

Xinis said she’ll make a decision before Wednesday on a temporary restraining order.

The post Judge likely to keep Abrego Garcia detained to prevent quick deportation appeared first on arkansasadvocate.com

Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.

Political Bias Rating: Center-Left

The article presents a narrative critical of the Trump administration’s handling of the immigration and deportation case involving Kilmar Abrego Garcia. It highlights concerns raised by a federal judge about due process, the lack of transparency from the Department of Justice, and allegations of mistreatment and unlawful deportation. The language emphasizes legal and humanitarian issues, portraying the administration’s actions in a negative light without explicitly endorsing a particular political ideology. The framing aligns with concerns commonly emphasized by center-left perspectives, focusing on immigrant rights, government accountability, and judicial oversight.

News from the South - Arkansas News Feed

Grant Hardin used black marker & soup can to create disguise that allowed his escape

Published

2 days ago

July 10, 2025

Staff Editor

www.youtube.com – 40/29 News – 2025-07-10 22:12:16

SUMMARY: Grant Hardin, a convicted murderer, rapist, and former police officer, escaped a medium-security prison in Arkansas using a disguise he crafted from kitchen materials. He dyed a shirt with a black marker, fashioned a makeshift badge from a soup can, Bible cover, and button, and used an apron as a bulletproof vest. The escape, lasting 12 days in the woods, revealed serious staff failures: a kitchen worker let Hardin unsupervised for over an hour, and a guard left a gate open unattended. Two prison employees were fired, but lawmakers remain unsatisfied. Hardin’s threat level was reportedly too low for his offenses, prompting ongoing investigations.