Sep 25, 2026 - Health

New multiple sclerosis clinic to keep patients local

Alex Golden

Blue sky with white clouds above a red brick office building; overhead power lines cross the scene, with a UAMS sign and a few parked cars near the street corner. — The UAMS Northwest Regional Campus in Fayetteville. Photo: Alex Golden/Axios

The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences recently opened a clinic at its Fayetteville campus dedicated to patients with multiple sclerosis.

Why it matters: It means fewer people have to travel to Little Rock or elsewhere for care, Lee Archer, the neurologist supervising the clinic, told Axios.

Travel can be hard on people with the condition, which causes the immune system to attack the central nervous system and can impact mobility, vision and mood, according to the CDC.

By the numbers: About one in 1,000 people in Arkansas have the condition, Archer said. That translates to roughly 600 people in Benton and Washington counties, not to mention the surrounding areas.

The big picture: Health care leaders have emphasized a need to expand specialty health care, especially in light of NWA's growing population.

State of play: Archer, based at UAMS in Little Rock, is seeing patients at the Northwest Regional Campus a few days a month. Another doctor will have to take over after he retires next year, he said.

A $100,000 donation from Bentonville-based Rampy MS Research Foundation supported the opening.

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New multiple sclerosis clinic to keep patients local

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