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Michelle W. Krause, MD, MPH; and Ahmed Abuabdou, MD, MBA
| LITTLE ROCK – The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) has appointed Michelle W. Krause, MD, MPH, Senior Vice Chancellor for UAMS Health and Chief Executive Officer for UAMS Medical Center, and Ahmed Abuabdou, MD, MBA, Director clinic for the UAMS Medical Center. Both have held these roles on an interim basis since September 2022.
“Dr. Krause has been at UAMS for more than 20 years and has led both our COVID-19 testing and vaccination efforts and helped lead the implementation of our operational escalation plans for the care of additional hospitalized COVID patients,” said UAMS Chancellor Cam Patterson, MD, MBA “Her clinical expertise, administrative experience and institutional knowledge make her the ideal leader for our state health care system. She is well versed in health care needs throughout Arkansas.”
“We are fortunate to have two established leaders within UAMS to step into these roles,” he said. “Their leadership and perspectives will be especially valuable in our efforts to achieve our strategic goals to make Arkansas a healthier state and grow our national reputation for excellence.”
Krause is responsible for UAMS Health’s 535-bed hospital, outpatient clinics in Central Arkansas, digital health services, and clinics at eight regional campuses across the state. He is chair of the board of directors of the Baptist Health-UAMS Accountable Care Alliance and is also a professor at the UAMS College of Medicine.
Krause joined UAMS in 2002 and held a variety of administrative roles including outpatient medical director and vice president for clinical programs in the Department of Internal Medicine before being named director of the integrative medicine service line in 2015. Nell As of April 2022, she was appointed Clinical Director and served in this capacity prior to assuming her current role.
He received his MD from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and completed his residency in internal medicine at the University of North Carolina. She completed fellowships in nephrology and research nephrology at the University of North Carolina and received her master’s degree in public health in epidemiology from the University of North Carolina School of Public Health.
As Clinical Director, Abuabdou will facilitate medical staff interactions with UAMS healthcare leadership and across service lines to ensure effective and efficient care. He also has executive operational oversight of clinical service lines and chairs the Clinical Leadership Council.
“Dr. Abuabdou has been in this new role on an interim basis for the past four months and has strong relationships with staff at all levels who help us ensure excellent care for all patients at all times,” said Krause. “As a member trusted by UAMS Health’s leadership team, he will play an essential role in navigating our clinical operations through future opportunities.”
Abuabdou joined UAMS in 2012. He is an Associate Professor of Medicine at UAMS and previously served as Associate Medical Director. He also heads the UAMS Physician Advisor Group. He completed medical school at Gulf Medical College, United Arab Emirates, earning Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery degrees. He completed an internal medicine residency at St. Elizabeth Health Center in Youngstown, Ohio, and then completed a fellowship in blood banking and transfusion medicine at UAMS. He holds a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Nationally, Abuabdou is the vice president of operations for the American College of Physician Advisors.
UAMS is the state’s only health sciences university, with colleges of medicine, nursing, pharmacy, health professions, and public health; a graduate school; an hospital; a main campus in Little Rock; a Northwest Arkansas regional campus in Fayetteville; a statewide network of regional campuses; and seven institutes: Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, Psychiatric Research Institute, Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging, Translational Research Institute, and Institute for Digital Health & Innovation. UAMS includes UAMS Health, a state health system that includes all of UAMS’s clinical practice. UAMS is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has 3,240 students, 913 medical residents and fellows, and five dental residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 11,000 employees, including 1,200 physicians who provide patient care at UAMS, its regional campuses, Arkansas Children’s, VA Medical Center, and Baptist Health. Visit www.uams.edu or uamshealth.com. Find us on Facebook, ChirpingYouTube or Instagram.
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