Heartland Forward pushing progress on AI, telehealth, career readiness

It’s been a busy fall for the folks at Bentonville-based Heartland Forward, the policy think tank. Three major initiatives were announced between late August and early October involving artificial intelligence, telehealth and career readiness for high school students in rural parts of the state.

In addition, Heartland Forward Executive Vice President Angie Cooper was named to a federal advisory panel, the National Artificial Intelligence Advisory Committee, which will steer future presidential policy on AI.

“I am thrilled and honored to be part of the National Committee focusing on AI,” Cooper said in an interview with the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal. “It’s a group of over 30 advisers that will be working to provide policy recommendations to our current or future administration. And we’ll be looking at a number of different things as it relates to AI and the workforce as it looks to opportunities of literacy around AI, as it looks to opportunities of specific policy recommendations at the federal level.”

A recent AI survey conducted by Heartland Forward throughout midwestern states reported consensus attitudes for seeing artificial intelligence properly regulated and utilized to improve health care, farming, business and education.

The survey, conducted in late June in Alabama, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma and Tennessee, showed:
• 78.5% of respondents believe AI has potential to make a positive difference in health care.
• 77% of respondents believe AI has potential to make a positive difference in agriculture.
• 76.7% of respondents believe AI has potential to make a positive difference in manufacturing.
• 77.4% of respondents believe AI has potential to make a positive difference in education.

AI is already in use in many people’s daily lives through Google searches or Alexa or Siri inquiries. More advanced applications aren’t as commonly recognized. Cooper believes the positives will outweigh the negatives for AI, but there will be a steep learning curve for the general public.

“I think it’s the opportunity of making sure you understand how, if I’m going to use AI, what does that mean? What does it mean for my workforce, my personal life? There are so many advantages of AI, but we want to make sure that when we’re implementing and using it, we’re protecting ourselves,” she said.

Another Heartland initiative announced this fall centers around a program known as rootEd Arkansas. It brings college and career advisers to rural high schools to work with high school counselors. The advisers work one-on-one with rural junior and senior students to help them determine what is the best pathway for them beyond high school.

This larger effort is built from a successful pilot program and has already seen success in Alaska, Idaho, Missouri and Texas. The Arkansas Department of Education is supporting rootEd Arkansas, which is a separate organization from Heartland Forward but supported with research and assistance.

“The program is designed for these advisers in the schools to talk to the students. Do they have interest in getting a four-year degree? Do they have interest to get additional training and education or go through an apprenticeship program? Do they have interest in working at a local employer in their community or their region? And then we help them through whatever process that they choose,” said Cooper.

“The program also gives them opportunities to test and learn about career opportunities that they might not be aware could be interesting. Some of those center on closing gaps around workforce shortages that we have in health care in the state of Arkansas or knowing that we’re going to have a number of broadband jobs available as we look to close the digital divide and give them access to what a job in broadband actually looks like,” she added.

Cooper said in states where rootEd is operating, more than 80% of students are on track to secure a career that provides a sustainable wage. She said 62% of students said their rootEd adviser was the most important person in their life as they think about post-high school.

In early October, Heartland Forward announced another major initiative to expand telehealth access in Arkansas and Oklahoma by teaching area librarians how to prepare residents for a telehealth visit. The initiative has received combined support of more than $275,000 to expand training across the heartland.

The Ford Foundation, the James M. Cox Foundation and the Public Library Association support the initiative that kicked off Oct. 2 with a training event at Fayetteville Public Library. Cooper said the Ford Foundation provided a $250,000 grant to help create a training module with the Public Library Association and allow Heartland Forward to expand the module to 18 states across the Midwest. A $25,000 gift from the James M. Cox Foundation will help support librarian training and expand the module across Arkansas and Oklahoma.

A Heartland Forward report shows 25% of counties surveyed in the region had a population-to-primary care physician ratio more than double the U.S. average. Telehealth is expected to help address the gap by allowing patients to visit health care providers using a computer, tablet or smartphone. This can be done at home, a clinic or a place with computers available, such as a library.

“You must have access to the internet to be able to utilize telehealth,” Cooper said. “Some people drive over 30 minutes to get to a hospital, and mothers — as it relates to maternal health and postpartum treatment — over 10% drive over 100 miles. So, telehealth can help solve this problem for people getting access.”

Librarians from the region will be trained about the online Telehealth DigitalLearn module, which teaches users how to access and prepare for a telehealth appointment. The module is available in English and Spanish and comprises a training package with slide decks, trainer scripts and handouts.

“It’s a great module,” Cooper said. “I, quite frankly, have learned from the module as well because it goes through what kind of internet speeds do I need to do a telehealth visit? What kind of insurance will cover my telehealth visit? Should I use my computer or my phone?”

Editor’s note: Jeff Della Rosa contributed to this story.