Every initiative below exists because rural Arkansas communities identified a need — through Community Health Needs Assessments, member roundtables, and conversations on the ground. Each program is built to grow local capacity that lasts.
The Simulation Training Ambulance
Funded through the Delta Regional Authority’s SEDAP program, ARHP’s simulation training ambulance brings hands-on emergency medical training directly to rural communities — so students and EMS professionals can train on real equipment without leaving the region.
For rural Arkansas, where the nearest training facility can be hours away, bringing the classroom to the community removes one of the biggest barriers to building an EMS workforce.
The Arkansas Rural Health Academy
Breaking access barriers to bring training and education opportunities throughout rural Arkansas — developing the next generation of rural healthcare professionals and leaders.
Explore the Academy →Community Health Worker Advance
Training and deploying Certified Community Health Workers across rural counties through the Rural Arkansas CHW Institute — one of only two state-approved CHW training programs in Arkansas.
Health Workforce: Inspire & Inform
Introducing students across rural Arkansas to healthcare careers — from mobile unit visits at high schools to career exploration events that plant the seed early.
Health Workforce: Equip & Educate
Scholarships, internships, and training pathways that equip future and existing health professionals — building a homegrown rural health workforce from the ground up.
Connect to Healthcare Operations
Full scholarships, internship opportunities, and professional networks connecting the Arkansas Delta workforce and college students to careers in healthcare operations.
SAMHSA Adult Drug Court
ARHP’s SAMHSA-funded Adult Drug Court Program expands access to substance use treatment and peer recovery support for adults participating in Adult Treatment Drug Courts in Arkansas and Drew counties, serving a 22-county region across Central and South Arkansas. Trained Peer Recovery Specialists draw on lived experience to help participants navigate the court system, access treatment and community resources, and pursue recovery as an alternative to incarceration.
Since 2021, ARHP’s Peer Recovery Specialist team has provided more than 3,000 individuals with targeted peer support and therapy services. The five-year grant beginning October 2024 strengthens treatment and recovery infrastructure, with a goal of improving the health and wellness of at least 240 participating adults — a goal surpassed in the grant’s first year.
Rural Health Corps (Youth Mental Health Corps)
ARHP’s AmeriCorps program, built on the Youth Mental Health Corps model — training young adults to serve at partner hospitals and health centers while building service-to-career pathways into the behavioral health workforce, with a focus on youth and young adults ages 12 to 24.
Explore Rural Health Corps →Mental Health First Aid Training
Equipping everyday Arkansans — teachers, coworkers, neighbors — to recognize and respond to mental health and substance use challenges in their communities.
The Good Food Rx
Where health starts with what’s on the table — connecting rural residents with access to healthy food and addressing food insecurity as a driver of health.
Delta Primary Care Integrated Network
An integrated network of rural hospitals, health centers, and clinics across the Arkansas Delta — coordinating care, sharing resources, and expanding access to primary care for rural patients.
Delta Primary Care Initiative
Strengthening primary care in Delta communities — helping patients manage chronic disease, stay connected to care close to home, and avoid preventable hospital visits.
Strengthening Rural Health
Building capacity, infrastructure, collaboration, and shared resources between rural health organizations to ensure long-term sustainability.
Rural Health Transformation Initiatives
ARHP’s work under Arkansas’s Rural Health Transformation Program — a statewide effort to strengthen rural health systems, expand access to care, and build a sustainable rural health workforce.
Learn More ↓Arkansas Rural Health Transformation
Through Arkansas’s Rural Health Transformation Program, ARHP is leading eight initiatives that put technology, infrastructure, and leadership capacity directly into rural hospitals, clinics, and health centers across the state.
Rural CHF Remote Monitoring & Chronic Care Coordination
This initiative will provide 21,015 remote patient monitoring devices across 68 primary care clinical sites, including ARHP member rural health clinics and community health centers throughout Arkansas. The devices allow care teams to monitor patients’ health information between visits, identify concerning changes earlier, and follow up with patients managing chronic conditions.
By extending support into patients’ homes, the project helps rural providers strengthen chronic disease management and stay connected with patients who face long travel distances or other barriers to frequent in-person care.
Arkansas Rural Emergency Tele-Consultation & EMS Tele-Triage Network
This initiative will provide 58 telehealth units for 20 hospital emergency departments and 38 ambulances across rural Arkansas, expanding access to emergency clinical support when time and distance matter most. Rural emergency teams and EMS providers can connect with remote specialists on urgent conditions including stroke, trauma, and behavioral health crises.
Telehealth access in ambulances also supports assessment and care decisions during transport, helping EMS and hospital teams coordinate before arrival.
Arkansas Rural Behavioral Health Access, Safety & Stabilization
This initiative supports feasibility studies and proposed renovations for psychiatric safe rooms in 21 Arkansas rural hospitals, helping each assess its existing space, identify needed safety improvements, and develop a practical renovation plan suited to its facility and patients.
The project also includes a behavioral health clinic renovation at Dallas County Medical Center, a transport van improving access to Howard Memorial Hospital’s Intensive Outpatient Program for geriatric psychiatric patients, and an IOP renovation at Bradley County Medical Center.
Arkansas Rural Hospital Emergency Power Resilience
This initiative will provide six generators in Year I to support rural hospitals including McGehee Hospital, Ashley County Medical Center, DeWitt Hospital & Nursing Home, Southwest Arkansas Regional Medical Center, and St. Bernard’s Cross Ridge Community Hospital. Reliable backup power lets hospitals protect critical equipment and maintain essential services when the electrical grid is unavailable.
By Year V, the project is expected to provide generators for 25 rural hospitals across Arkansas.
Rural Care Command Network
This initiative will provide 112 telehealth specialty carts supporting inpatient and outpatient care at 15 rural hospitals, 14 rural health clinics, and 37 Federally Qualified Health Center sites across Arkansas, connecting patients with specialty providers through real-time virtual consultations at a familiar local facility.
For patients who would otherwise travel long distances for a specialty appointment, this makes follow-up care more accessible and reduces time away from work and family.
Arkansas Rural Healthcare Leadership Institute
This initiative establishes the Arkansas Rural Healthcare Leadership Institute (ARHLI) as a permanent statewide leadership resource for rural hospitals and FQHCs. Year I provides 24 governance certification scholarships for board members, 72 executive certification scholarships across six leadership tracks, and three Rural Health Administrative Fellowship scholarships.
By Year V, the project expects to prepare 120 governing board members, award 360 executive certification scholarships through the National Rural Health Association, and place 15 administrative fellows across rural Arkansas.
Rural Youth Mental Health Capacity-Building
This initiative trains trusted adults across rural Arkansas in Youth Mental Health First Aid, an evidence-based program developed by the National Council for Mental Wellbeing. Training reaches educators, healthcare professionals, faith leaders, coaches, emergency responders, and other adults who regularly interact with young people.
The project also certifies local instructors who can continue offering the training in their own communities, sustaining the program well beyond the initial project period.
The Good Food Rx Rural Health Collaborative
HEART—FARM establishes comprehensive in-hospital food pharmacy feasibility and sustainability plans for six additional rural hospitals in Southwest Arkansas. Each plan assesses the hospital’s facilities, patient population and chronic disease needs, staffing capacity, community partnerships, local food resources, and potential funding opportunities.
Collectively, these efforts create an adaptable framework that can support the expansion of hospital-based food pharmacy services across rural Arkansas.
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