CONWAY, Ark. (July 22, 2020) – Conway Regional Health System, along with Central Baptist
College, Hendrix College, and the University of Central Arkansas, announce a partnership
for testing and health services related to COVID-19.
Conway Regional Health System and Conway’s three institutions
of higher education have been collaborating for several weeks to implement
protocols and practices to help ensure the health and safety of students,
faculty, and staff.
During this unprecedented time, this partnership brings
together innovation, collaboration, and teamwork to build on and expand upon long-established
working relationships.
“Each fall, the makeup of Conway changes when the City of
Colleges welcomes thousands of students back to campus,” said Matt Troup,
President and CEO of Conway Regional Health System. “Our partnership specific to
COVID-19 with our local colleges and universities, extends beyond the bricks
and mortar of our medical center.”
As a community, the administration at the campuses felt
the need to pursue a local health care partnership to help address COVID-19
this fall.
“A college consortia with regard to COVID-19 screening
and testing in the ‘City of Colleges’ is ideal because it allows us to speak
with one voice to the thousands of employees and students on our campuses of
higher education,” said Sancy Faulk, Vice President for Institutional
Advancement at Central Baptist College. “In a situation like we find ourselves
in, individuals need clarity, and that is what this partnership will bring to
our campuses.”
The partnership focuses on recommended best practices for
each campus to keep their communities safe and healthy. The infection prevention
team at Conway Regional has worked with the campus medical providers to
understand their needs and provide guidance on prevention and testing, as well
as operational recommendations, which are based on the health system’s
management of COVID-19 since its appearance in Conway in March.
“We know that we are stronger and more efficient when we
work together,” said Houston Davis, UCA President. “We felt that between our
three colleges and Conway Regional Health System, we could collaborate to
identify solutions to meet all of our needs.”
The partnership is another innovative way the campuses are
coming together to build on existing relationships to address the needs of each
of the campus communities.
"We are grateful to Conway Regional for their
partnership on this critical and timely project to keep our campus and
community healthy and safe,” said Hendrix President Ellis Arnold. “We are
also excited about the new Conway Regional medical clinic in The Village at
Hendrix, which will offer a higher level of care and service for our
students and employees and will serve the health and wellness needs of our
campus and community for years to come.”
Additionally, this partnership enables robust testing for
all college students in the city of Conway.
Testing will occur with a provider order and will be facilitated by
Conway Regional Laboratory Services.
“This critical partnership will have an immediate
impact in addressing COVID-19 on our campuses and will help with surge testing
when and if it’s needed,” said Necie Reed, APRN at the Conway Regional Hendrix Medical
Clinic.
For UCA, it’s about ensuring a sustainable approach for
managing COVID-19, including testing and mitigation of potential spread of the
virus.
“Our student health center has plans in place to support
the ongoing health of our students at UCA,” said Houston Davis. “This
partnership will increase our capacity to test more, and testing is an
important health tool to help us track COVID-19 and to implement mitigation
strategies on our campus.”
“At Conway Regional,
we have evolved and adapted throughout this pandemic to meet the needs of
different populations and the communities we serve,” said Matt Troup. “We have
worked with each organization in some capacity throughout the years—whether it
be athletics or supporting their student health services. This
partnership came together very naturally. We have communities with medical needs
and Conway Regional can meet those needs.”
All three institutions of higher education plan
to resume face-to-face instruction for the fall semester on Thursday, August
20, 2020.