Clinics Closed Thanksgiving Day
The Mount Ida clinic will be closed Wednesday, November 23.
All Healthy Connections clinics in Arkansas and Colorado will be closed on Thursday, November 24, for Thanksgiving.
The Mena (136 Health Park Lane) and Hot Springs Central (3604 Central Ave. Suite D) will be open from 7:45 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday, November 25. All other Healthy Connections clinics will be closed on Friday.
If you have questions, please call us at 888-710-8220.
Celebrating National Nurse Practitioner Week
Every day, nurse practitioners (NPs) are saving lives and improving the health of our friends and family. This includes our fantastic nurse practitioners who are a part of the Healthy Connections Community Health Network.
To honor their efforts, Healthy Connections, Inc., and Evolve Behavioral Health and Medication Management are joining healthcare organizations across the country in celebrating National Nurse Practitioner Week.
Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRN) provide a wide range of care to America’s patients in more than 1 billion visits annually. This year, the NP Week theme is “NPs: Going the Extra Mile,” which offers patients the opportunity to share their stories about the positive difference an NP has made in their life. NP Week recognizes the contributions more than 325,000 licensed NPs make to the health of patients nationwide.
At Healthy Connections, our nurse practitioners work in primary care, specialty services, and behavioral health. Nurse practitioners are part of our provider team at all of our clinics across central and western Arkansas.
Across the country, nurse practitioners have become important in bridging the healthcare gaps that have left many without care over the years. These clinicians, who blend clinical expertise with an added emphasis on disease prevention and health management, play a critical role in educating patients on ways to improve their mental and physical well-being. Nurse practitioners assess patients, order and interpret tests, make diagnoses, and provide treatment, including prescribing medications.
Find a Healthy Connections nurse practitioner by visiting https://healthy-connections.org/providers. Call 888-710-8220 for appointments.
To learn more about nurse practitioners nationwide, visit www.wechoosenps.org.
October Employees of the Month
October can be spooky and scary. But to these employees, it was a treat. Congratulations to our Healthy Connections October Shining STAR Employees of the Month.
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WEST: JENNIFER KESTERSON, APRN
EAST: DENISE YANEZ
Each month across the Healthy Connections Community Health Network, exemplary employees are nominated for this award for representing our Three Pillars: Excellence, Compassion, and Community. These pillars are considered heavily when choosing winners.
As winners of this Shining STAR award, Jennifer and Denise are winners of a $50 gift card.
Jennifer is a Family Nurse Practitioner at the Mena clinic. Denise is a Patient Care Coordinator at the Hot Springs Chippewa clinic.
- “Jennifer strives for excellence with her patients and staff. She listens to her patients and coworkers to the point where her patient list has grown in the last two months greatly. She is always at work and giving 110 percent.”
- “Denise does so much for the providers and is a great teacher. She has helped me learn a lot in a short amount of time. Denise also helps out our patients by going above and beyond for them, especially our Hispanic community. She is excellent at her job.”
Congratulations to both Jennifer and Denise.
Thanks again this month to everyone who nominated an employee. There were a lot of great nominations. Do you know who should be our next employees to be recognized? You can nominate them by visiting https://www.healthy-connections.org/nominate.
September 2022 Employees of the Month
September means the start of fall, but these employees stood tall to become our September Shining STAR Employees of the Month. Congratulations to our winners:
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WEST: Jarred harley
EAST: eric luster
Each month across the Healthy Connections Community Health Network, exemplary employees are nominated for this award for representing our Three Pillars: Excellence, Compassion, and Community. These pillars are considered heavily when choosing winners.
As winners of this Shining STAR award, Jarred and Eric are winners of a $50 gift card.
Jarred is based in Mena and works in Information Technology services throughout the Community Health Network. Eric is a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner with Evolve Behavioral Health. He sees patients at Little Rock Midtown, West Central Health Clinic, and Malvern.
- Jarred in his time here has shown a great willingness to. He has lined out many processes in order to strengthen the network excellence. Whenever someone has an issue, he will research it to his best in order to solve their problem. Due to his persistence in solving issues it helps everyone else do their jobs for the patients.
- Eric is always ready to see patients and makes sure they are well taken care of. He recently started seeing patients in Malvern and is passionate in what he does.
- .Jarred jumps in and helps wherever he is needed. I have seen him jump over on Fridays and help unload trucks. He is very kind and always looking to help.
- Eric has a positive attitude and looks on the bright side of each day. He is definitely a friendly person who patients love to see. Eric shows excellence and compassion in everything he does.
- Jarred has been a huge help this month in making changes to the phone system. He always has a good attitude even if plans change and he has to make modifications to the previous changes, he is always willing to help.
Congratulations to both Jarred and Eric.
Thanks again this month to everyone who nominated an employee. There were a lot of great nominations. Do you know who should be our next employees to be recognized? You can nominate them by visiting https://www.healthy-connections.org/nominate.
August Employees of the Month
August means the end of summer vacation and a busy month at our clinics as everyone prepares to head back to school. These employees stood out to become our August Shining STAR Employees of the Month. Congratulations to our winners:
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WEST: CHRIS MASTERS
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EAST: LESLIE WARD, MD
Each month across the Healthy Connections Community Health Network, exemplary employees are nominated for this award for representing our Three Pillars: Excellence, Compassion, and Community. These pillars are considered heavily when choosing winners.
As winners of this Shining STAR award, Chris and Dr. Ward are winners of a $50 gift card.
Chris is the Network Administrator over Information Technology services throughout the Community Health Network. Dr. Ward is a primary care physician at the Hot Springs Central clinic.
- In his short time with the organization, Chris has truly made a difference for our patients and employees. Managing an IT healthcare network can be very challenging, but Chris makes the difficult appear easy. He is a good steward of organizational resources and leads his team in providing exceptional customer service. He thoughtfully reviews processes and figures out the most efficient and effective way to solve problems. His leadership and professionalism have been instrumental in making sure our employees are able to care for our patients.
- Patient-focused, an educator, and a soothing personality when things get hectic. I feel she has a special relationship with every employee in this clinic and supports our APRNs. Ward is a strong patient advocate. She comes to work with a smile on her face every day and is available at the drop of a hat to assist employees with anything that they need. She goes above and beyond to ensure that her collaborating providers can come to her with any needs they may have whether they be procedural and company questions, or for her professional opinion regarding patient care. Her bedside manner is second to none and she forms a relationship with each patient that comes through the door. Dr. Ward stands tall amongst healthcare professionals and is more than deserving of the recognition that comes with employee of the month.
Congratulations to both Chris and Dr. Ward.
Thanks again this month to everyone who nominated an employee. There were a lot of great nominations. Do you know who should be our next employees to be recognized? You can nominate them by visiting https://www.healthy-connections.org/nominate.