ARHP Named Outstanding Health Network by NHCN for 2019

Hardinsburg, KY - Arkansas Rural Health Partnership (ARHP) in Lake Village was recognized as the 2019 NCHN Outstanding Health Network during the National Cooperative of Health Networks Awards Program held in San Diego, California on April 25, 2019. The award was accepted bythe network’s Chief Executive Officer, Ms. Mellie Bridewell. The Outstanding Network Award recognizes any network or entire network organization that has improved access to health services in its service area and coordination of resources for network members through innovate, comprehensive approaches. Arkansas Rural health Partnership was selected from an eligibility pool of over fifty networks.

Arkansas Rural Health Partnership (ARHP) is comprised of all rural hospitals in Arkansas, Ashley, Bradley, Chicot, Columbia, Dallas, Desha, Drew and Jefferson Counties. Together it continues to expand, nurture and provide programs throughout the Partnership’s individual communities and the south Arkansas Delta region.

Over the past decade, ARHP has grown from five to twelve-member hospitals, obtained nearly $10M in grant funding, and successfully implemented and sustained 52 grant-funded programs across the 9-county rural service area. ARHP has become a reference point and model for rural health innovation and collaboration across the state and nation.

ARHP’s outreach programs and services address the needs of our local communities. They are a direct result of listening to the communities and member organizations. Community health needs assessments conducted for each community hospital function as a foundation for all ARHP programs and services. The following ARHP grant funded services and number of lives ARHP has impacted is just a glimpse of the far-reaching benefits provided during 2017 and 2018:

1. access to free breast exams, mammograms, ultrasounds, and biopsies to 750 uninsured and under insured women and assistance to 2,109 women and men with breast and diagnostic services; b) diabetic education to 790 people;
2. 50 diabetic support group meetings;
3. prescription assistance to over 2,000 people at a savings of $1.6M;
4. insurance assistance to over 1,200 residents;
5. patient education to approximately 6,000 high risk inpatients to avoid readmission;
6. health education and training courses to over 79,000 healthcare employees; and
7. tuition, books, and travel to 28 high school students and local firefighters to obtain an EMT certification.

ARHP applied and accepted the HRSA Federal Office of Rural Health Rural Opioid (AD-RHOP) and Mental Health Outreach grants in 2017/2018. In the days to come, ARHP will devote energies to enhance and grow the local healthcare workforce by partnering with their youth, as well as local and state educational institutions. ARHP will continue to bring needed resources to the service area, but also build its organizational infrastructure to enable members to reduce costs through economies of scale, service lines, payor contracts, and increase quality of care for all patients.

NCHN is a national professional membership organization comprised of health networks, alliances and consortiums dedicated to supporting and strengthening health networks. For more information about NCHN please visit their website at www.nchn.org.