Northwest Arkansas BioDesign SprinTs (NABS)

The Northwest Arkansas Biodesign Sprints (NABS) program is a Walton Family Foundation-funded program that is inspired by Stanford’s Biodesign Fellowship program. The NABS program exists to help health systems in the Northwest Arkansas region identify and create innovative solutions to their challenges.

 The goals of the program are to:

  1. Develop a faster pipeline of new innovations that can lead to a greater number of NWA-based healthcare startups

  2. Build a culture of innovation within NWA-based health systems

  3. Source problems and ideas within health systems

  4. Generate relationships with clinical departments

  5. Develop innovation infrastructure NWA health systems can leverage for physician recruitment and retention

HealthTech Arkansas has the privilege of partnering with the University of Arkansas in this program, helping to facilitate partnerships with health systems and providers in the region. More details about the program, including paid student internships, can be found on the University of Arkansas’ Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation page.

Initial health system program partners for the NABS program are Arkansas Children’s Northwest, Highlands Oncology, Community Clinic of NWA, Mercy Hospital, and Washington Regional Medical Center. Not only are these staple names and sources of healthcare for the region, but they are also highly innovative and driven organizations that are striving to be at the forefront of evolving care.

 For questions about this program, please connect with Haley McCarver at haley@healthtecharkansas.com.