UAMS, Washington Regional Approved for Residency Programs in Neurology, Emergency Medicine in Northwest Arkansas
FAYETTEVILLE — The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) and
Washington Regional Medical Center have received initial accreditation from the
Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) to establish a
neurology residency program and an emergency medicine residency program in
Northwest Arkansas through their joint graduate medical education program.
These are the first non-primary care residencies accredited in Northwest Arkansas. The
programs can begin recruiting residents in the fall. The initial two neurology residents
and the initial six emergency medicine residents will begin in July 2026. When full, the
four-year neurology program will have a total of eight residents, and the three-year
emergency medicine program will have a total of 18 residents.
“Northwest Arkansas is experiencing rapid population growth, increasing the demand for
specialized medical care,” said Ryan Cork, MHSA, vice chancellor of the UAMS
Northwest Region. “Despite this growth, the region faces a shortage of neurologists and
emergency medicine physicians, leading to longer wait times and limited access for
patients. Expanding the number of specialists in the area is essential to meet current
health care needs, improve patient outcomes and support the overall health infrastructure
of our thriving community.”
The neurology program and the emergency medicine program are the first new residency
programs accredited since the state’s PEER Joint Budget Committee approved $4.5
million for expansion of graduate medical education at Washington Regional. The funds,
which were unanimously approved Feb. 26, will allow the UAMS/Washington Regional
Graduate Medical Education Program to expand by an additional 26 medical residency
and fellowship slots.
“The partnership between the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and
Washington Regional provides residents with the benefits of being part of a health
sciences university and opportunities to practice in a community hospital while caring
for a diverse patient population,” said Larry Shackleford, president and chief executive
officer at Washington Regional. “Neurology residents will work alongside the
multidisciplinary team at Washington Regional’s J.B. Hunt Transport Services
Neuroscience Institute, which offers the region’s highest level of neurosciences care,
while residents in the emergency medicine program will care for patients in one of the
busiest emergency departments in the state as well as the region’s only Level II Trauma
Center.”
Washington Regional will be the primary clinical site for both residency programs. Other
required rotation sites for neurology residents are Arkansas Children’s Northwest,
UAMS Psychiatric Research Institute Northwest, Encompass Health and MANA Sleep
Medicine Clinic. The emergency medicine residents will also do pediatric rotations at
Arkansas Children’s Northwest, an EMS rotation with Central EMS in Northwest
Arkansas, and a pediatric intensive care unit rotation at Arkansas Children’s Hospital in
Little Rock.
The UAMS/Washington Regional Neurology Residency Program is led by Jay Hinkle,
M.D., as program director, and Margaret Tremwel, M.D., Ph.D., as associate program
director. Both are adjunct assistant professors in the UAMS Department of Neurology,
staff neurologists for the UAMS Institute for Digital Health & Innovation Stroke
Program, and board-certified in neurology and vascular neurology. Hinkle and Tremwel
are co-medical directors of Washington Regional’s Stroke Program, and Washington
Regional is the only hospital in Northwest Arkansas to hold certification as a
Comprehensive Stroke Center by The Joint Commission and American Heart
Association/American Stroke Association.
The UAMS/Washington Regional Emergency Medicine Residency Program is led by
Joel “Cam” Mosley, M.D., as program director, and Ryan Mantooth, M.D., as associate
program director. Mosley is an associate professor in the UAMS Department of
Emergency Medicine, while Mantooth is an adjunct assistant professor in the UAMS
Department of Emergency Medicine. Both treat patients at Washington Regional.
The UAMS/Washington Regional Graduate Medical Education Program was created in
2021 after a 2019 study commissioned by the Northwest Arkansas Council identified a
shortage of physicians in Northwest Arkansas. The study recommended expanding
graduate medical education programs in the area to increase the number of doctors and
expand access to health care. Since 2021, the UAMS/Washington Regional Graduate
Medical Education Program has established 50 new residency positions, including 24
residency slots in internal medicine.