Dear Friends of the UAMS Psychiatric Research Institute,
With the New Year upon us, we continue to do battle with the COVID-19 pandemic. We have also been dealing with the reality of divisiveness in our nation. Both of these issues can wear on our emotional well-being and along with our regular day-to-day stressors, can take a toll on us. I hope that you are taking positive measures every day to nurture yourself and those around you. Remember to breathe! I also want to remind you that you are not alone and we continue to serve our patients and the community to ensure their mental health needs are met.
Please remember that we have AR-Connect, our 24/7 urgent care service, that is free to all Arkansans. You or anyone you know may call at any time to get the process started. You will be seen, via tele-video, on the next business day. Our entire array of services is available or can be accessed this way during the pandemic.
As many of you know, last September, I notified folks that I planned to retire at the end of May. It has been an honor and privilege to “get a second chance” to work at the Psychiatric Research Institute with this amazing group of people. I am grateful for the opportunity. I will have more to say about this topic in our May issue of Mind Matters. Please remember that the work of the Psychiatric Research Institute will continue to prosper and progress after I am retired.
I am grateful for the amazing faculty and staff of the Psychiatric Research Institute who have figured out ways for us move forward during these challenging times. Much energy has been consumed with just the logistics of COVID-19 (how to safely admit COVID-positive patients to the hospital, how to cover for colleagues who are out due to quarantine or active illness, how to have all our meetings/appointments on tele-video, etc.) However, your Psychiatric Research Institute team has accomplished a lot during the pandemic: we are “seeing” more patients than ever before, we have on order a new state of the art 3 Tesla MRI scanner (weighing 13 tons) for the James T. Dyke and Helen L. Porter Brain Imaging Research Center that will be installed in March, and we are having our first resident and fellow match that is completely virtual (no travel).
I want to thank you for your continued commitment to the Psychiatric Research Institute and its mission. You are essential to our work and I am grateful for your support, even if we do not get to gather as we did before the pandemic.
Be well, be safe, and best wishes,
G. Richard Smith, M.D.