Doug Ross Named New President at CHI St. Vincent Hot Springs (Movers & Shakers)

Doug Ross, CHI St. Vincent Hot Springs

Dr. Doug Ross has been appointed as the new president of CHI St. Vincent in Hot Springs while keeping his duties as chief medical officer of the health system. His appointment to the Hot Springs post follows the departure of former CHI St. Vincent Hot Springs President Anthony Houston, who has accepted a position as chief operating officer of CHI Memorial in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

As chief medical officer of CHI St. Vincent, Ross has led significant progress in quality and safety across the system, his bosses say, including programs that led CHI St. Vincent to the 100th percentile nationally in patient safety scores and decreased hospital-acquired infections by 75 percent.

Ross joined CHI St. Vincent in Hot Springs in 2003, when it was named Mercy Hot Springs, serving as a physician in the emergency medicine department. He has since served as the hospital’s chief of staff, medical director of informatics, medical director of the emergency department and as senior vice president. He is also board-certified in emergency medicine. Ross earned his medical degree from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock and completed his residency in emergency medicine at the University of South Carolina in Columbia.

Ashley Poppy and Sharon Pickens have joined the CHI St. Vincent Primary Care clinics in Jacksonville as nurse practitioners.

Poppy, joining the Braiden Street clinic in Jacksonville, has a family nurse practitioner specialty and sees patients age 18 and older.

Pickens, with more than 20 years of experience as a nurse practitioner, will be serving at the Main Street clinic in Jacksonville.

Elaine Thrift has joined Baptist Health Adult Medicine Specialists in Fort Smith.

Thrift specializes in endocrinology and has extensive experience in the treatment of patients with Type I and Type II diabetes. She has more than 25 years of experience in nursing and caring for residents of the River Valley.

Dr. Rudolph Bowens Jr. has joined the medical team as a urologist at St. Bernards Medical Center in Jonesboro.

Bowens earned his medical degree from Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis. He completed his residency in general surgery and a general urology fellowship at Indiana University.

Dr. Robert Hopkins has been awarded the 2018 Outstanding Adult Immunization Champion award for exceptional dedication to protecting adults from vaccine-preventable diseases by ImmunizeAR in Little Rock. Hopkins is a professor at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock.

See more of this week’s Movers & Shakers, and submit your own announcement at ArkansasBusiness.com/Movers.