July 7, 2025 | Laura Hays, Ph.D., APRN, associate professor in the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) College of Nursing, has been selected as part of the 2025 class of Fellows in the American Academy of Nursing.
Hays’ induction will take place Oct. 18 during the academy’s annual Health Policy Conference in Washington, D.C.
The American Academy of Nursing has more than 3,200 fellows who represent the organization’s mission of advancing health care policy through nursing leadership, innovation and science. Inductees are chosen based on their extraordinary contributions to improving health care in their communities and around the world, the academy says.
“It will be an honor to be counted as a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing, and I look forward to the innovative partnerships that this fellowship will enable,” Hays said. “This opportunity to collaborate with nursing leaders is valuable for the ideas, policy solutions and effective models of care that we can implement here in Arkansas.”
Hays has long served as an advocate for improving the health outcomes of children who are born with rare genetic conditions. She has worked for the past 10 years as a clinical consultant for the Arkansas Department of Health’s Newborn Screening Program, which helps ensure that newborns are tested for dozens of medical conditions that, if left untreated, can affect their physical and mental development or threaten their lives.
Patricia Cowan, Ph.D., RN, dean of the College of Nursing, said induction into the American Academy of Nursing is considered one of the highest honors in the profession.
“I am so proud of Dr. Hays for being selected for this prestigious honor,” said Cowan, a 2016 inductee. “Her induction will be a well-deserved recognition of her accomplishments and leadership in the fields of genetics and health care policy.”
Members of this year’s class represent 12 countries, 42 states and the District of Columbia, according to the academy. Hays is the only Arkansas inductee.
UAMS is the state’s only health sciences university, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; a hospital; a main campus in Little Rock; a Northwest Arkansas regional campus in Fayetteville; a statewide network of regional campuses; and eight institutes: the 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, Institute for Digital Health & Innovation and the Institute for Community Health Innovation. UAMS includes UAMS Health, a statewide health system that encompasses all of UAMS’ clinical enterprise. UAMS is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has 3,485 students, 915 medical residents and fellows, and seven dental residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 11,000 employees, including 1,200 physicians who provide care to patients at UAMS, its regional campuses, Arkansas Children’s, the VA Medical Center and Baptist Health. Visit www.uams.edu or uamshealth.com. Find us on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube or Instagram.
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