NORTH LITTLE ROCK—People who need joint replacement surgery often have advanced arthritis of the hip or knee or a spinal disorder that leaves them in constant pain.
 

“It is a vicious cycle,” said orthopedic surgeon William F. “Bill” Hefley Jr., MD, Little Rock. “If you are tired, pain is hard to handle. If you are in pain, it is hard to sleep. You are in a constant state of being fatigued. You can’t sleep and can’t function at work or in the community.”
 

The outlook can be dim for people who don’t have health insurance coverage or enough money to pay for joint replacement surgery that could help them live normally once again. Responding to that need, Arkansas Surgical Hospital (ASH) surgeons, nurses, other staff and implant vendors have joined together for a Day of Giving that provides free surgeries to those in need.
 

“The Day of Giving was conceived as an opportunity for us to give back to the community in a tangible way helping our patients,” Hefley said. “This was an opportunity to ease chronic pain and suffering so these patients could go back to work, be able to interact with their family better, and enjoy leisure activities.”
 

The Oct. 2 surgeries were the first Day of Giving for what is planned as an annual event. While everyone involved could have spent that day off duty pursuing recreation or just relaxation, all donated their time willingly.
 

“The atmosphere in the hospital that day was very upbeat,” Hefley said. “It was a good day for everybody. We had dozens and dozens of doctors and nurses, scrub techs, and manufacturing reps. Medtronic, Cyberonics and Biomet Orthopedics donated implants. All involved left with their spirits uplifted. This was a day well spent.”
 

The patient Hefley operated on that day was Cecile Hall, who with her husband runs a homeless shelter in Vicksburg, Miss. She had been denied care by her insurance company, was struggling with her pain, knew she didn’t have the money and didn’t know how to solve the issue. Hall and her family expressed gratitude to Hefley and other volunteers over and over again.

“They are so appreciative because she was really at her wits end,” Hefley said. “That to me is a big reward. It is a good feeling to help people out and receive in return warm, heartfelt thanks.”
 

Other surgeons participating in the event were James Adametz, MD, Michael Calhoun, MD, Richard Jordan, MD, Ken Martin, MD, Jason Stewart MD and Scott Bowen, MD.
 

Bowen performed a total knee replacement Oct. 2 for Rick Torbett, whose bad knee was affecting his job and his overall health because he could exercise normally.
 

“I do a lot of work on basketball courts and gymnasiums,” Torbett said. “I have to be able to move around and demonstrate. It was making things difficult all the way around. You just don’t how much pain you are putting up with and how much just trying to manage the pain distracts from your thoughts and time. You don’t realize how bad it is until it is gone. There is life before ASH and life after ASH.”
 

Less than three weeks after surgery, Torbett was back working out at the gym and able to function normally at work. His recovery has been beyond his expectations.
 

Tina Albright, vice president of consumer advocacy and human resources for ASH, said 11 patients were scheduled to have surgery Oct. 2. But two patients had complications that meant their surgeries had to be cancelled. One of those patients was particularly devastated because he had been living with the back pain for so long. The surgeon and hospital administration decided he would still get his surgery at no cost once he was ready.
 

 “We recognize how devastating this was for him…he finally had the opportunity and means to have this surgery, and then it looked like it wasn’t going to happen after all,” said Carrie Helm, CEO. “We are going to make his dream of surgery a reality in the near future.”
 

The other patient will also have surgery at a later date.
 

ASH is a physician owned hospital in North Little Rock specializing in orthopedic, spine, breast oncology, cosmetic and podiatry surgeries, as well as a variety of pain management procedures and diagnostic testing. ASH was ranked this year in the top 1 percent of hospitals nationwide for overall surgical care and overall hospital care by CareChex.com. HealthGrades, another independent national healthcare ratings system has also rated ASH as number one in Arkansas and five-star rated for orthopedic and spine surgery in their 2010 rankings.