The state of Arkansas has announced that it will invest $149.3 million across 50 awards to support rural healthcare services and workforce development in underserved regions.
The funding stems from the federal Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP). The program has funneled billions into ensuring rural areas that historically lack healthcare support have access to quality services and treatment.
This round of funding will predominantly go toward efforts to improve access to specialty and maternal care, bolster behavioral health and emergency services, modernize rural healthcare facilities and deploy technologies to remotely care and support patients. Arkansas officials anticipate delivering a total of $209 million in awards by this fall.
The awards will be delivered through two healthcare programs.
- $93.6 million through the Promoting Access Coordination and Transformation (PACT) initiative.
- $55.7 million through the Telehealth, Health-Monitoring, and Response Innovation for Vital Expansion (THRIVE) program.
THRIVE provides support for initiatives that expand telehealth, strengthen emergency medical response and deploy remote patient-monitoring technology. PACT brings healthcare to local communities by offering specialty care, preventative screenings, telehealth and trauma-ready services.
The following is a selection of projects that will receive funding.
Several communities in Sebastian, Scott and Logan counties will receive $12.7 million in PACT funding to preserve critical-access hospital services and position Mercy Hospital Fort Smith as a regional healthcare hub. The recipients will implement these improvements through patient navigation and population-health infrastructure; preventive, specialty, diagnostic and procedural care; and facility, safety, accessibility and emergency-readiness improvements.
The Arkansas Ambulance Association will receive $10 million in THRIVE funding to replace ambulances. Planned investments also include telehealth communications, connectivity and patient-monitoring equipment, data sharing, training and a Patient Navigation Hub.
Baptist Health in Union County will receive a $12 million PACT grant to implement facility improvements, replacement clinical equipment, systemwide IT infrastructure and operational integration. These enhancements will help stabilize services across a seven-county region, ensuring more than 120,000 residents have quality, reliable care.
Baxter Health will spend $12 million in PACT funding to expand specialty and preventative care across 11 counties. These efforts will entail modernizing infrastructure and creating a regional network that will serve 2,400 rural residents by Year 5, expand services in 10 clinics and increase provider data sharing.
The Mississippi County Hospital System will receive a $9.6 million PACT grant to modernize essential services, enhance facility reliability and strengthen local care capacity. These improvements will predominantly benefit the cities of Blytheville and Osceola in Mississippi County.
Photo by RDNE Stock Project from Pexels
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