NEWS RELEASE

Contact: Jill E. McCormick, Director, Marketing & Planning
St. Edward Mercy Health System
Phone: 479-314-6037
Email: jill.mccormick@mercy.net

New Emergency Department Medical Director Announced

Fort Smith, Ark. – March 27, 2009- Dr. Matthew Dupree was named medical director of the Emergency Department for St. Edward Mercy by Dr. Robert Patton, president & CEO of St. Edward Mercy Clinic. Dr. Dupree will assume responsibilities of the department effective April 1, 2009.

Dr. Dupree has been a physician in the St. Edward Mercy Emergency Department since 2008. Prior to moving to Fort Smith, Dr. Dupree worked for Greater San Antonio Emergency Physicians in San Antonio, Texas from 2006 to 2008. After completing his residency at New York Medical College in New York, N.Y., Dr. Dupree was hired as faculty at Metropolitan Hospital from 2003 to 2006.

He attended medical school at Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara in Guadalajara, Mexico and received his Bachelor of Science degree in molecular biology from Texas Lutheran University. Dr. Dupree is board certified in emergency medicine.

Dr. Dupree is currently a major in the U.S. Army Reserves. He has served in combat support hospitals during his deployment to Iraq in 2005 and Kosovo in 2004. He also served as medical director for the 20th Soldier Readiness Processing Center at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas.

During his residency, Dr. Dupree earned Resident of the Year all three years and earned the honor of Chief Resident during his last year of residency.

Dr. Dupree is married to Dr. Ivelesse Dupree, a pediatrician for Cooper Clinic. The Duprees have three children. In his spare time, Dr. Dupree enjoys basketball and saltwater aquariums.

The St. Edward Mercy Emergency Department has 31 beds and sees over 47,000 patients annually. St. Edward Mercy Medical Center, the flagship hospital of the St. Edward Mercy Health System, is located in Fort Smith, Ark., and serves over 400,000 residents in 13 counties.

The Health System also includes three satellite facilities: Mercy Hospital/Turner Memorial in Ozark; North Logan Mercy Hospital in Paris, and Mercy Hospital of Scott County in Waldron. Additionally, the System includes medical clinics in Fort Smith, Van Buren, Waldron, Mansfield, and Paris.

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