North Metro Healthcare

6V • SUNDAY, MARCH 12, 2017 RIVER VALLEY & OZARK EDITION A SUPPLEMENT OF THE ARKANSAS DEMOCRATGAZETTE
Profiles in compassion
Health care professionals, companies to be honored at awards luncheon
Steve Jackson II, registered nurse at Arkansas Heart Hospital
Nurse of the Year
Community wellness would not be possible without dedicated physicians, nurses, adminis- trators and other health care professionals. To recognize individuals and businesses who have advanced health in the North Metro region, the Conway Area Chamber of Commerce re- cently launched the North Metro Healthcare Awards luncheon.
A panel of health care executives from across the country selected award recipients from nominations received in late 2016. In addi- tion to the awards ceremony, Arkansas Surgeon
General Dr. Greg Bledsoe will give a keynote address. Bledsoe is a board-certified emer- gency-medicine physician who has worked in locations around the globe. He is a graduate of the College of Medicine at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock.
The luncheon will take place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday, March 28, at the Centennial Val- ley Country Club Events Center, 1600 Centen- nial Club Drive in Conway. Individual tickets can be purchased at ConwayChamber.org for $50, and tables of eight are available for $400.
Surgeries and hospital stays can cause stress for any family, but caring nurses can help lift the burdens felt by patients
and their loved ones. As part of the North Metro Healthcare Awards, presented by the Conway Area Chamber of Commerce, a panel of health care experts from across the U.S. selected a Nurse of the Year who has demonstrated his or her commitment to caring for patients, advancing the nursing field and overcoming adversity.
This year’s recipient is Steve Jackson II, a registered nurse at Arkansas Heart Hospital in Little Rock.
“Nursing is such a rewarding career be- cause each and every day, I have the amazing opportunity to touch people’s lives when they need it the most,” he said. “As nurses, we are there to offer the utmost in competent care as we listen and become the bridge between patient and doctor.”
A native of Hope, Jackson is the son of the Rev. Steve and Kaye Jackson. After graduat- ing from Hope High School in 2008, Steve Jackson II attended the University of Cen- tral Arkansas in Conway, where he began a pre-nursing program that led him to com- plete the registered-nursing program at Bap- tist Health School of Nursing in Little Rock in 2015. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from the University of Ar- kansas at Fayetteville in 2016.
Motivated by a passion for helping others and an interest in health care services, Jackson began his health care career at the Little Rock Cardiology Clinic in 2008. His work there deepened his interest in health care and ignit- ed his desire to advance his education.
After becoming an RN, Jackson joined the post-anesthesia care unit at Arkansas Heart Hospital, where he earned the hospital’s All Heart award. Although some days are rough, he said, he enjoys working with his teammates to provide the best care for their patients.
“On any given day at the Arkansas Heart Hospital, I have the privilege of comforting
D. Smith, physician ter-Lieblong Clinic
Steve Jackson II, a registered nurse in the post- anesthesia care unit at Arkansas Heart Hospital, received the North Metro Healthcare Nurse of theYear award.
families, providing them with updates and answering their questions,” he said. “As simple as this may sound, nursing is actually one of the most challenging health care professions, but it makes such a big impact.”
Jackson was nominated for Nurse of the Year by Jamille Rogers, who met Jackson through a mentorship program at UCA sev- en years ago.
“His fun-loving, high-energy personal- ity definitely drew my attention to him,” Rogers said. “He is very organized and does an amazing job with multitasking.”
Jackson is an active member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc., the UCA Alumni As- sociation and New Hope Missionary Baptist Church. The church partners with Baptist Health on a monthly basis to provide health
SEE NURSE, PAGE 8
Dr. John at Banis
Physician of the Year
Great doctors often consider their work to be a calling, and Dr. John D. Smith, a physician at Banister-Lieblong
Clinic in Conway, is no exception. A childhood accident involving his brother led Smith to practice medicine, and this year, he has been named Physician of the Year as part of the North Metro Healthcare Awards, presented by the Conway Area Chamber of Commerce.
“Dr. John Smith has been an icon of med- icine in Faulkner County for over 40 years,” said Diane Sponer, an employee at the clinic who nominated Smith for the award. “When most physicians retire after long years of being a doctor, he continues going strong with no immediate plans for retirement. He is a true inspiration and, I feel, well-deserving of such an honor.”
Smith was born in Camden to John William and Reba McCann Smith. Dr. Smith and his younger brother, David, grew up in Fordyce, and the family moved to McGehee when Smith was 10. Smith’s life changed abruptly one summer afternoon when David fell from an unfinished treehouse and crushed his skull on a root.
“After hearing that he might not make it, I prayed that if God would let him live, I would dedicate my life to saving others,” Smith said. “Against all odds, David miraculously survived and is now a brilliant and dedicated pharma- cist in Conway. I knew a promise had been made, and my life’s work was now a calling.”
After graduating from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock in 1972, Smith interned at St. John’s Hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he met Dr. Bob Banister. Banister was looking for a new part- ner, and Smith joined him at Banister-Lieblong Clinic in 1973.
“My many thanks to the great employ- ees of Banister-Lieblong Clinic for their dedication and support through the years,”
Dr. John D. Smith, a physician at Banister-Lieblong Clinic, received the North Metro Healthcare Physician of theYear award.
Smith said. “I share this honor with them.” Smith has worked as a team physician at Conway High School and the University of Central Arkansas in Conway, where he also worked as a physician consultant for health services. He has served as a member of the board of directors for Conway Region- al Medical Center. In addition, he served in the United States Army Reserve in an evac- uation-hospital unit and retired as a major after 10 years. In addition, he is a member of the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Board of Family Medicine, the Arkansas Medical Society and the Arkansas
Academy of Family Physicians.
SEE PHYSICIAN, PAGE 8