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September 2, 2020

Famed Author Henry Cloud Chooses UAMS for Knee Replacement

By Katrina Dupins

Sept. 2, 2020 | When New York Times Bestselling author Henry Cloud, Ph.D., decided to do something about his knee pain, he turned to UAMS.

In addition to writing 45 books and serving as a consultant to CEOs and leadership teams, Cloud has always been physically active. The Los Angeles resident is an avid golfer and enjoys hiking and skiing with his family. For the past six or seven years, he had significant knee pain. He knew he could possibly need knee replacement surgery, but put it off.

“At the end of last year, there were two rounds of golf I couldn’t finish,” Cloud said. “I walked out there with my family and couldn’t walk back because the pain was so bad. I had to be taken to the emergency room.”

At that point, Cloud said it wasn’t a matter of whether but when. Personal references mean a lot to him, so when a friend recommended C. Lowry Barnes, M.D., chair of the UAMS College of Medicine’s Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Cloud looked into it.

“Dr. Barnes is not just a surgeon,” Cloud said. “He’s done extensive research and has even been instrumental in the development of some of the devices. He was also helpful in answering my questions. That’s another reason I chose to see him. I didn’t want to get lost in a big machine. I felt like Dr. Barnes gave a human, patient-oriented feel to the whole process.”

Because Cloud is a competitive golfer, the department’s research on movement and muscle use in golf was intriguing to him and helped lead to his decision to travel to UAMS for his surgery.

Cloud says he was also impressed with the way the whole system at UAMS served him. The clinical psychologist, founded and built a health care company that operated inpatient and outpatient treatment centers in forty markets. He is familiar with the challenges that goes into running an organization as large as UAMS.

“There are a lot of appointments that go into a surgery like this. You have pre-op, exams, physical therapy appointments after the surgery. It just all worked,” Cloud said. “I consistently received clear messaging of where and how to get tested for COVID-19, and numbers to call in case I had concerns. I was never caught in a phone tree wondering does anyone live here. I know how difficult surgeries are, especially in a pandemic. To pull it off as they pulled it off, I would say it was flawless. They did a fantastic job.”

These days, Cloud spends his time showing business leaders how to build good cultures within their companies. He is driven by his goal to help people.

“I love to see someone go through the arc of getting from here to there,” Cloud said. “When a leader gets better, everybody wins. That’s what inspires me. I believe God put us here and he gives us each abilities, which are best to be used to help other people.”