Wonks at Work

Health care, public health, and the support systems we have in place to make Arkansans healthier were key areas of focus for state lawmakers during the 2025 regular session of the 95th Arkansas General Assembly. With the session now at an end, it's time to look back from a healthcare perspective to understand what happened and what has become, or will soon become, the new law of the land. In this episode of the Wonks at Work podcast, we're joined once again by Michelle Kitchens, director of governmental affairs and community outreach here at the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement.

Although essential to overall health and well-being, not every Arkansan has access to fresh, healthy food. A working group appointed by former Gov. Asa Hutchinson found food deserts in 62 of Arkansas's 75 counties in 2022. Filling some of those gaps, farmers markets and other community-focused solutions have evolved to serve areas that don't have a supermarket, and, in some cases, simply can't support one. In this episode of the Wonks at Work podcast, we learn more about efforts to re-introduce local food to Arkansas communities, schools, and families from Dan Spatz, the proprietor of a 400-acre farm in Conway named Healthy Flavors Arkansas.

In Arkansas and around the country, private equity groups have a growing financial interest in health care. While private equity investment can revive struggling hospitals or reinvigorate stagnant ones, critics accuse some of loading hospitals with debt, stripping their assets, and leaving communities to deal with the aftermath. That's what happened in Hope, Arkansas, last year when the owner of Wadley Regional Medical Center, Dallas-based Steward Healthcare Group, declared bankruptcy. The hospital was immediately at risk of closing, but fortunately there were leaders in the community who would not let that happen. In this episode of the Wonks at Work podcast, we learn more about this cautionary tale from Clay Hobbs, chief operating officer of Pafford Medical Services, which partnered with the community to save their local hospital.

As disturbing as the reported opioid overdose death toll has been over the past decade, a 2018 study suggested that many states were likely underreporting those deaths. The reason was that coroners and medical examiners were not specifying the drug contributing to the cause of death on death certificates. To better understand drug overdose deaths in Arkansas, state lawmakers passed a law in 2023 addressing this challenge. In this episode of the Wonks at Work podcast, we speak with Dr. Ted Brown, director of the Arkansas State Crime Lab and the state's chief medical examiner, to discuss the impacts of the law and his work to answer questions about how Arkansans have died.

A little over half of Arkansans have dental coverage, and even among those with coverage, only 30% of adults and 50% of children used any services, according to an ACHI analysis. Forgoing oral health care can lead to infections, chronic pain, tooth loss, and exacerbation of other health issues such as diabetes and heart disease. Patients who do not have access to or cannot afford regular dental care are often left to seek emergency care in the hospital or access low- or no-cost services in charitable settings. In this episode of the Wonks at Work podcast, we speak with Dr. Terry Fiddler, executive director of Arkansas Mission of Mercy, which organizes volunteers to host free, pop-up dental clinics. Arkansas Mission of Mercy's next free dental clinic is April 11-12 at the Conway Expo Center.

Even if you may not look forward to going to the dentist, you could be taking your experience for granted. For individuals whose brains function differently, such as people with diagnoses like autism, going to the dentist can be an anxiety-inducing event. In this episode of the Wonks at Work podcast we speak with Lyon College School of Dental Medicine's new associate dean for clinical affairs, Dr. Ashley McMillan, about oral health access and accommodations for neurodivergent patients to get needed dental care.

Non-medical vaccine exemptions for Arkansas kindergarten students continue to rise, according to recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Vaccine hesitancy, or a lack of confidence in vaccines, is a key factor contributing to this trend, but it is not a new phenomenon. On this episode of the Wonks at Work podcast, we're joined by Dr. Sam Taggart, author of The Public's Health: A Narrative History of Health and Disease in Arkansas, to discuss the history of vaccine hesitancy in the Natural State.

Rapid economic and population growth like what's taking place in Northwest Arkansas can be exciting, but it can also stress existing housing, education, transportation, and healthcare infrastructure. The Northwest Arkansas Council, an organization established to help shape the region's development, has released a new report that assesses the healthcare transformation currently underway and outlines future goals. Key objectives include building a sufficient healthcare workforce to respond to the demands of a growing population and ensuring that healthcare dollars stay in the Northwest Arkansas economy. To learn more about the report, we're joined on this episode of the Wonks at Work podcast by Dr. Paul Umbach, founder of the healthcare and higher education consulting firm Tripp Umbach, which led the report's development.

Now more than ever, schools are seeking to provide students with a broad scope of wellness, prevention, and treatment so they can thrive inside and outside the classroom. Dozens of schools across Arkansas have adopted a model known as the school-based health center. These are staffed clinics on school grounds that provide medical and mental health care, and in some cases oral health and vision services. Students and staff don't have to leave school for appointments, and studies have shown the centers have the potential to improve educational outcomes. To learn more about these centers, we're joined on this episode by Tamara Baker, executive director of the School-Based Health Alliance of Arkansas.

Arkansas recently joined a growing number of states that support cellphone restrictions in schools, launching a $7 million pilot program to create “phone-free” schools as part of a broader effort to improve student mental health and curb screen addiction. While research on cellphone bans is mixed, some studies show associated improvements in student mental health and academic performance, as well as decreases in bullying. For a firsthand perspective on the impact of such bans on students and the school environment, we're joined on this episode by Dr. Debbie Jones, superintendent of Bentonville Schools.

Tobacco use remains the leading preventable cause of death in Arkansas, claiming more lives each year than HIV, illicit drug use, alcohol, motor vehicle injuries, and firearm-related incidents combined. Tobacco use in the state has dropped significantly over the past decade, but Arkansas's smoking rate still ranks among the highest in the U.S. Plus, the use of e-cigarettes has drastically increased, with roughly 1 in 10 Arkansans vaping regularly. To explore these challenges, as well as some hopeful new treatments for lung cancer, we're joined on this episode by Dr. Matthew Steliga, a thoracic surgeon at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and a member of the Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Advisory Committee for Arkansas.

Firearms are the leading cause of death for children in the U.S., and the number of gun-related fatalities has continued to climb for the past decade. Following the September school shooting in Winder, Ga., that left two students and two teachers dead, the question of how to stem the tide has risen again. In this episode of the Wonks at Work podcast, we're joined by Dr. Whit Hall, a neonatologist with Arkansas Children's Hospital and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. Recently, he shared how gun violence has impacted him and his family in a testimony before state lawmakers, who are considering an update to Arkansas's gun laws.

Data is great to have, but to work toward solutions to the challenges we face, it's essential that we turn that data into understandable and actionable information. ACHI has been working with the Arkansas State Police on a deep dive into vehicular crash data to support strategic planning efforts for traffic safety. In this episode, of the Wonks at Work podcast, ACHI Health Policy Director Craig Wilson takes a turn in the guest seat to share a few of the insights uncovered by ACHI's analysis of roadway fatalities in Arkansas.

Arkansas has the fourth-highest roadway fatality rate of all the states. Fortunately, policymakers have begun to respond. In May, the Little Rock City Board voted to adopt the Central Arkansas Regional Safety Action Plan, part of which is to seek federal funding to address safety concerns by improving lighting, signals, and other roadway infrastructure. Last week, the city announced that it will receive $25 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation to begin that work. On this episode of the Wonks at Work podcast, we're joined by Dr. John Landosky, Little Rock's bicycle and pedestrian coordinator, to learn more about the city's plan.

Arkansas's rural communities face many challenges. Communities are shrinking due to out-migration, rural hospitals are under financial strain, and the state's rural residents are, on average, older, poorer, and less healthy than their urban counterparts. Primary care physicians are also far less plentiful in rural areas, making the role of the family doctor even more important. In this episode of the Wonks at Work podcast, we speak with Dr. Sam Taggart, a retired family medicine physician and author of several books about the medical profession in Arkansas. His latest book is “For Every Family, a Family Doctor,” which explores the history of family medicine in our state.

There is growing concern about the role social media plays in the mental health and development of young people. Arkansas's governor, multiple other states, Congress, and the courts are all delving into this issue. The U.S. surgeon general has even called for warning labels on social media platforms. As those efforts move forward, it falls upon parents, families, educators, and others in the community to support our children as they navigate these new technologies. On this episode of the Wonks at Work podcast, we learn more about the impact of social media on Arkansas youth with Dr. Tiffany Howell, a pediatric psychologist at Arkansas Children's Hospital. For more information and resources related to social media and youth mental health, visit ACHI's Maternal and Infant Health topic page.

There are numerous risks along the birthing journey that contribute to poor outcomes for Arkansas moms and babies. One effective practice for promoting healthy outcomes for babies is breastfeeding, which supports their immune systems and cognitive development. Unfortunately, breastfeeding is not an option for some mothers. To learn more about a new alternative available in Arkansas to those mothers and their families, we're joined on this episode of the Wonks at Work podcast by Tyler Faircloth, program director for the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Milk Bank.

Hundreds of cities in nearly every U.S. state are on track for one of their 10 warmest summers on record. Besides posing immediate risk for illnesses such as heat exhaustion and heat stroke, extreme heat can create cumulative stress on the human body over prolonged periods. Heat can also impact us in less obvious ways, such as worsening health risks from chronic conditions due to stress on the heart and kidneys or degrading the effectiveness of certain medications. In this episode of the Wonks at Work podcast, we're joined by KARK Channel 4 Chief Meteorologist Todd Yakoubian for some special insight into the hot and humid days of summer in Arkansas.

Maintaining one's health is challenging for those whose basic needs such as housing and food are unmet. A new effort in Central Arkansas, Providence Park, seeks to address the needs of people who are chronically unhoused, offering permanent housing and wrap-around services including healthcare for those in need. Host Craig Wilson talks to Providence Park CEO Errin Stanger about the inspiration for this project and what led her to this work.

Maternal health has finally risen to the forefront of policy conversations in Arkansas, driven by the startling statistic that our state has the highest maternal mortality rate in the nation. Improving maternal health outcomes should be reason enough for policymakers to invest in positive change, but sometimes it helps to outline the economic benefits of such investments as well. In this episode of the Wonks at Work podcast, we're joined by Dr. Maria Rodriguez-Alcala, director for health and wellness at Northwest Arkansas-based Heartland Forward, to discuss the nonpartisan think tank's report, The Economic Case for Investing in Maternal Health.

When we're well rested, we can start our day in a good mood and are better able to respond to whatever the day brings. There are, however, many different things that can keep us from getting a good night's sleep. For some, minimizing common disruptions to sleep is not enough, as they deal with sleep disorders that cause problems with the quality, timing, and amount of sleep. About 50 million people in the U.S. have a sleep disorder which can lead to the development of other health conditions such as depression and heart disease. In this episode, we delve into the world of sleep and its impact on health with Dr. Dimitry Fomin, who leads Mercy Clinic Sleep Medicine and Mercy Sleep Center in Northwest Arkansas.

One impact of the pandemic on our healthcare system is that it inspired some necessary creativity and interest in new ways of providing care. One alternative care model that saw increased interest was the hospital-at-home model. About 150 hospitals have adopted this model, in which hospitals provide intensive care at home for patients with certain conditions. In this episode, we learn about how hospital-at-home programs work from Katherine Prentice, director of telehealth services for St. Bernards Healthcare in Jonesboro, who heads up the St. Bernards AcuteHealth at Home program.

There are several programs underway in Arkansas aimed at improving maternal and infant health outcomes. One such program is Life360 HOMEs, part of Arkansas Health and Opportunity for Me, or ARHOME, the latest iteration of Medicaid expansion in the state. Life360 HOMEs are designed to provide additional, intensive supports to a number of target populations, including at-risk soon-to-be mothers. In this episode, we learn more about Maternal Life360 HOMEs with Dr. Kalena Jones, the system director of ARHOME programs for Baptist Health.

January 2024 marks 10 years since several key provisions of the Affordable Care Act took effect in Arkansas. In this episode, host Craig Wilson sits down with ACHI President and CEO Dr. Joe Thompson to discuss their perspectives on this anniversary. Dr. Thompson focuses on the impact of the state's innovative approach to Medicaid expansion, while our host looks back at what it was like to purchase health insurance prior to the patient protections in the Affordable Care Act.

Moms are more likely to die during pregnancy or shortly after giving birth in Arkansas than in any other state. This is a shocking statistic, especially because maternal mortality is largely preventable. In this episode, host Craig Wilson asks University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology Dr. Nirvana Manning what can be done to make having a baby in Arkansas less risky for both mother and child.

Antibiotic resistance and the inappropriate use of antibiotics pose growing threats to public health, both here in Arkansas and around the globe. For U.S. Antibiotic Awareness Week, we're joined by one of our public health partners to learn more about these issues and what healthcare professionals and the public should know about antibiotic resistance. Jordan Murdoch, a licensed pharmacist and a pharmacy consultant for the Arkansas Department of Health's healthcare-associated infections and HIV programs, sits down with host Craig Wilson in this episode of Wonks at Work.

Among the challenges currently facing rural hospitals is cybersecurity, which was one of the main concerns expressed in a recent report commissioned by the Arkansas General Assembly. According to Becker's Hospital Review, nationwide there have been 327 data breaches reported to the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Civil Rights as of August, affecting more than 40 million patients. That's nearly double the number of breaches over the same time last year. In this episode, host Craig Wilson sits down with J. Foster Davis, co-founder and chief operating officer of BreachBits, one of the cybersecurity companies working to protect healthcare providers and other organizations from these types of incidents. You can read a summary of Davis' BreachBits analysis of the cybersecurity risks facing Arkansas hospitals and clinics here: http://bit.ly/3scmipj

Only 57% of Arkansas adults reported having a dental visit in 2020. Like other health professions, there is an enormous need to educate, train, and keep dentists here in Arkansas to address the state's significant oral health needs. That's why the announcement of a planned dental school at the newly established Lyon College Institute of Health Sciences in Little Rock has been such welcome news. In this episode, host Craig Wilson is joined by Dr. Burke Soffe, founding dean of the Lyon College School of Oral Health and Dental Medicine, to discuss progress on the dental school.

More than 17,000 Arkansans are diagnosed with cancer each year. As of late September, the most advanced cancer radiation treatment in the world is now available in our state following the opening of The Proton Center of Arkansas. The center in Little Rock is the result of a collaboration between the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Arkansas Children's Hospital, and Baptist Health and promises greater precision, fewer side effects, and faster recovery times for patients. In this episode, host Craig Wilson is joined by Dr. Michael Birrer, vice chancellor and director of the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute at UAMS, to learn more about proton beam radiation therapy.

Arkansas hospitals continue to face financial challenges coming out of the pandemic as inflation outpaces revenue. Earlier this year, the state established a new designation, the rural emergency hospital, following a move by Congress in late 2020. The new designation could make financial sense for some hospitals with lower inpatient volume, but there are tradeoffs. At least one Arkansas hospital has already taken up the option — St. Bernards Five Rivers Medical Center in Pocahontas. In this episode, host Craig Wilson speaks with the hospital's administrator, Randy Barymon, about right-sizing the hospital for the community.

New digital technologies can boost our individual health and well-being and make the healthcare system more accessible, personalized, efficient, and cost-effective. This has created fertile ground for health technology startups exploring innovative ways to address patient and consumer needs. Recently, we've seen a flurry of startup activity in the mental health and substance use treatment and recovery space. In this episode, host Craig Wilson speaks with Chris Thompson who founded the app Sober Sidekick in Northwest Arkansas to help people in substance use recovery build community, track their journey, and find support.

Cultivating interest in healthcare careers among students earlier in the educational process is key to ensuring a sufficient workforce pipeline to respond to the needs of Arkansans. That has been the focus of Robin Howell, senior program manager for regional campuses at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, for more than 35 years. In this episode, host Craig Wilson talks with Howell about the Medical Applications of Science for Health (MASH) program, a summer enrichment camp that allows high school students to learn about health career opportunities, and other efforts to develop a strong physician workforce pipeline in Arkansas.

Findings from research on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on minority communities have largely been uniform in showing overwhelmingly disparate health outcomes. In this episode of Wonks at Work, host Craig Wilson discusses findings from ACHI's analysis of Arkansas-specific data on COVID-19 health disparities with ACHI president and CEO Dr. Joe Thompson. They also discuss ACHI's findings on the early impact of long COVID on Arkansans and the need to continue to examine long COVID's effects on individual health and disability.

The COVID-19 public health emergency may have ended, but some Arkansans who were infected are still experiencing health impacts. In this episode, host Craig Wilson welcomes CHI St. Vincent cardiologist Dr. Anthony Fletcher, who discusses findings from ACHI's analysis of COVID-19 disparities and long COVID in Arkansas. Dr. Fletcher also gives a firsthand account of COVID-19's impact on patients with cardiac conditions.

Several new laws passed by the Arkansas General Assembly during its most recent session have already taken effect or will go into effect at the end of this month. In this episode of the podcast, we revisit the session through a healthcare lens for a review of what has already changed, what will soon become the law of the land, and what it all means for individuals and communities. Host Craig Wilson welcomes Arkansas Center for Health Improvement Director of Governmental Affairs and Community Outreach Michelle Kitchens to the podcast to unravel it all.

In this episode, we revisit the intersection of mental health and law enforcement, a space in need of innovative solutions and a topic that has been the focus of two previous episodes. Host Craig Wilson welcomes Fayetteville Police Lt. Tim Shepard for a discussion of his work in Northwest Arkansas as the supervisor of the Crisis Intervention Response Team, a task force that integrates Social Services Advocates into law enforcement response to connect individuals in crisis with the medical treatment they need.

In this episode, we explore how electronic health records — digital collections of patients' medical histories (lab results, medications, ER visits, etc.) — can be used to improve the care we receive. Host Craig Wilson is joined by Anne Santifer, executive director of the Office of Health Information Technology at the Arkansas Department of Health, which houses the State Health Alliance for Records Exchange, or SHARE. Santifer talks about how information is securely gathered to give doctors a more complete picture of their patients' health, where gaps and limitations currently exist, and how those gaps might be addressed.

Harm reduction is a key part of how we address the opioid epidemic. Making the overdose-reversal drug naloxone more widely available is a mainstay of harm reduction and the chief objective of ACHI's NaloxHome program. It is also critical to connect people with substance use disorder to treatment options and not miss opportunities for intervention. That's where Dr. Mike Wilson, an associate professor of emergency medicine at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, does his work. He joins host Craig Wilson (no relation) in this episode to discuss the opioid epidemic and his work on a program to help patients with opioid use disorder.

Our guest for this episode, Ryan Cork, is leading business-sector efforts in Northwest Arkansas to respond to a rapidly changing healthcare environment in the midst of population growth. Cork has extensive experience in healthcare administration, having worked in multiple roles for the Cleveland Clinic, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, and The James Cancer Hospital. Currently serving as Northwest Arkansas Council's Healthcare Transformation Division executive director, Cork shares how the council is responding to increased demand for healthcare services in the region and how businesses may have to adapt to the surging costs of employer-based health insurance.

One of the ways that we measure whether we are moving toward health equity is by measuring health disparities, i.e., the size of the gap between advantaged and disadvantaged groups. In this episode, host Craig Wilson talks with Derek Lewis II, president of the Derek Lewis Foundation — founded by his father, Dr. Derek Lewis — about health disparities in Arkansas and the work that the foundation and the National Medical Association are doing to advance health equity. Lewis also offers a history lesson on how the Arkansas Medical, Dental and Pharmaceutical Association was formed 130 years ago.

While the COVID-19 pandemic has dominated the public health landscape the past few years, a more silent killer has increasingly claimed American lives: opioids. Although policies regarding prevention, treatment, and recovery have improved, policymakers have been unable to keep pace with this rapidly evolving epidemic. In this episode, ACHI Peer Support Coordinator Lester Cupp joins host Craig Wilson to discuss challenges presented by the opioid epidemic in Arkansas and how peer recovery specialists can successfully support those in recovery through lived experience, mutual empowerment, and shared understanding and respect.

Brick-and-mortar crisis stabilization units, which have been launched in four areas of Arkansas, serve a critical role in law enforcement response to those in mental health crisis, but they comprise only one component of the response spectrum and are not available in some rural areas of the state. Put simply, law enforcement officers need additional options. In this episode, host Craig Wilson talks with Marian Green, a licensed counselor and founder and executive director of Aspiring for Community Transformations, a nonprofit working to deploy mental health resources to rural parts of Arkansas with a focus on the intersection of mental health and law enforcement.

The United States is still a long way from eliminating the stigma associated with seeking care for mental health needs, but the COVID-19 pandemic has revealed that more of us struggle with mental illness than society previously acknowledged. In this episode, host Craig Wilson talks with Dr. Mark Jansen, vice president and chief medical officer for Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield, about how the mental health landscape has evolved, how the pandemic has changed the demand for mental health services, and the pressures health insurers face as they try to respond to that demand. December 28, 2022.

More than 100,000 Americans need a life-saving organ transplant, but many will die waiting to be matched with a suitable donor. And the waiting list is ever growing — every 16 minutes a new patient is added. On this episode, we welcome Mark Tudor, president and CEO of ARORA, the largest organ and tissue recovery agency in Arkansas. Mark talks to us about how to register as an organ donor, clears up a few of the myths and misunderstandings about organ donation, and gives his advice to those who are on the fence about becoming a donor.

Unmet social needs — such as food, housing, transportation, and child care — can have detrimental impacts on people's physical and mental well-being, but most healthcare providers have been ill-equipped to address these needs. In this episode, host Craig Wilson talks with Hark Executive Director Josh Hall about the increasing need to integrate social care with health care, what solutions have emerged in this growing market, and how Hark connects people to community-based services in Northwest Arkansas.

On this episode, we zero in on the intersection of health and criminal justice with Dr. Nick Zaller, a professor at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College of Public Health and founder and director of the Southern Public Health and Criminal Justice Research Center. Dr. Zaller talks about his study of crisis stabilization units (CSUs) in Arkansas and what can be done to improve access to CSUs for people experiencing mental health crises. He also discusses key interventions to address the spread of infectious diseases among people who inject drugs, and the need to provide treatment for those who are incarcerated and actively using or undergoing treatment for opioid use.

Hospitals in Arkansas are experiencing increasing budgetary challenges. Medicaid expansion spared Arkansas from the rash of hospital closures that has plagued other states, but it doesn't mean our hospitals are not at risk. In this episode, Baptist Health President and CEO Troy Wells delves into the reasons why hospitals across the state are struggling, what he has learned about himself as a leader during the pandemic, and what his organization is doing to solidify the healthcare workforce pipeline.

On this episode, host Craig Wilson interviews his “Memphis the Musical” co-star and cancer survivor Satia Spencer. The pair discuss her survivor story, the new clinical recommendations for screening, and her advice for people hesitant to get screened. Spencer served as a Marine and is a music educator for the Little Rock School District. Shameless promotional plug: "Memphis the Musical" runs through the end of this week and tickets are available here: argentacommunitytheater.org.

Oral health is a key indicator of our overall health, yet it's often overlooked as an essential part of staying healthy. In this episode, host Craig Wilson talks to Delta Dental of Arkansas CEO Kristin Merlo about oral health access issues in Arkansas, bridging the medical-dental divide, and the promise of the recently announced plans for a dental school in Arkansas.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic more than two years ago, hospital capacity has been a major focus of attention — but we often forget about the capacity needed to get people to the hospital. For over 30 years, Greg Thompson has worked with the largest ambulance service in Arkansas, MEMS, which stands for Metropolitan Emergency Medical Services. Now at the service's helm as executive director, Thompson discusses the impact of COVID-19 on emergency medical services, how ambulance services are governed, and how the industry is addressing workforce challenges.

Wonks at Work goes national. In this episode, host Craig Wilson talks to national and state leaders about how we can better equip those who want to start families to have better outcomes. Our guests are Dr. Neel Shah, a national leader in maternal health and chief medical officer for Maven, a virtual clinic for women's and family health; and Dr. Creshelle Nash, medical director for health equity and public programs at Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield. The conversation touches on policy levers that could improve maternal and infant health outcomes, the need to integrate telehealth into the ways we currently provide services, and how we can restore trust in science and public health.