Lee Ronnel can jog and play tennis.
He might take these activities for granted if he hadn’t been almost denied them 22 years ago. 

After a skiing accident, Ronnel required delicate surgery on his leg. He was fortunate to have Dr. Carl Nelson as his surgeon. Now deceased, Nelson was chairman of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at UAMS and had developed the first practice in Arkansas dedicated solely to joint replacement surgery.

Before he met Nelson, a surgeon in Memphis had told Ronnel that if the procedure he suggested did not work and the leg refused to heal, it might have to be amputated below the knee.  Nelson disagreed; he felt that he could save the leg even though the surgery would be tricky. Two months after surgery, Ronnel began jogging again. “I was very touched by the care I received, and I was very moved by the professionalism exhibited by the staff of UAMS.” 

That experience, his gratitude for Nelson and friendship with former UAMS Chancellor Dr. Harry Ward has helped inspire and sustain a strong connection between Ronnel and UAMS.

Ronnel began helping UAMS through the Chancellor’s Circle and is a lifetime member of that group. He is also treasurer of the UAMS Foundation Fund Board. His wife, Dale, is chairman-elect of the UAMS Institute on Aging Advisory Board.

Helping UAMS through an unprecedented expansion and watching it make world-class care available to Arkansans is exciting for Ronnel. “This is a growing medical community that began moving forward with the arrival of Dr. Ward in 1979,” he said. “We are seeing extraordinary growth.”

That progress entails a $200 million campus expansion, including construction of a new hospital. “All you have to do is drive around campus and see the new buildings, new labs, the new library and the dorm construction. It’s wonderful,” he said.

Ronnel, father of three, said other family members also have received quality care at UAMS.