Sparks partners with Arkansas Heart Center; add new doctors

Sparks Health System has partnered with the physicians of the Arkansas Heart Center in Fort Smith. Effective immediately, Drs. Gary Fine, Jose Alemparte, Ron Kantola and Dario Espino will transition their Fort Smith practice exclusively to Sparks. Previously the Arkansas Heart Center doctors had privileges at St. Edward Mercy Hospital in Fort Smith.

For local patients of the Arkansas Heart Center, this means all scheduled procedures, emergency care or hospitalizations will be performed at Sparks, according to a Sparks statement.

“For patients of the Cardiology Center at Sparks, this collaboration ensures your current full-service cardiology care will continue on a 24/7 basis. Also, as the cardiology needs continue to grow at Sparks, we will continue to recruit well-qualified cardiologists,” noted the statement.

Sparks, a hospital owned Naples, Fla.-based Health Management Associates, has announced that Drs. Michael Gooden and Brandi Guthrey have joined the staff.

Gooden is a graduate of Northside High School, and received his medical degree from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock. Gooden recently served as a staff surgeon assigned to the 28th Combat Support Hospital in Baghdad. Prior to that, he was the chief of general surgery service at the Womack Army Medical Center in Fort Bragg, N.C.

Guthrey will join Sparks Plaza Family Practice on Aug. 2. Guthrey received her medical degree from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock. She was inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha, a national honor society that recognizes medical students, residents, scientists and physicians who reach high attainment in the medical sciences.

Guthrey served her internship at AHEC Fort Smith where her responsibilities included management of hospital floor patients and ER admissions. She also supervised and taught other medical students.