Leading on health care solutions

In Arkansas and across the heartland, we are used to solving problems together. That instinct — to step up for our neighbors, to find practical solutions and to work together for our families and our communities — is part of our DNA. It is also exactly what is needed as we confront some of our region’s most urgent health challenges.

Maternal health, mental health and health care workforce shortages are not isolated issues. Yes, they shape health outcomes, but they also importantly shape economic growth, workforce participation and long-term competitiveness.

So why are we so proud at Heartland Forward to wake up every single day as a resource for states and local communities? When faced with challenges and opportunities, we roll up our sleeves and get to work. Take maternal health: the United States has seen maternal mortality more than double over the past four decades, with rural states facing some of the steepest barriers to care. Yet 84% of maternal deaths are preventable. The issue is not a lack of solutions. It is a lack of coordination and execution.

In Arkansas and other heartland states, that execution is beginning to take shape through collaboration. At the 2025 Heartland Summit, Heartland Forward launched the Maternal and Child Health Center for Policy and Practice — designed as a hub to drive real change across the heartland. The center brings together policymakers, providers, health systems and community leaders to implement solutions that improve outcomes for moms, families and communities.

This work is already translating into tangible progress. Earlier this month, more than 60 stakeholders from across Arkansas — including state agencies, providers and health systems — came together at the second quarterly Arkansas Maternal Health Stakeholders meeting to focus on implementing the Arkansas Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies Act and advancing maternal care statewide. What emerged was alignment around three priorities: strengthening the maternal health workforce, improving continuity of care and expanding access through community-based and telehealth solutions.

This is what leadership looks like in the heartland. It is not about a single organization, program or policy. It is about sustained coordination, bringing the right people to the table and moving from ideas to implementation.

That’s why we applied the same principle when we convened the Heartland Health Caucus — top public policy decision-makers from eight heartland states who are working together to solve shared health care challenges and deliver faster, more effective results for communities. When Kentucky presented critical legislation supporting community health workers to the caucus, Arkansas and Oklahoma leaders took inspiration and moved quickly to advance similar solutions. That kind of cross-state collaboration is accelerating progress and demonstrating that the heartland can move faster together.

That approach is shaping the next chapter of this work. Through our Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies America initiative, and the continued leadership of the Maternal and Child Health Center for Policy and Practice, Heartland Forward is scaling solutions that work — taking inspiration from states like New Jersey, Michigan and Arkansas to drive real change across the region.

As part of this effort, Heartland Forward will pilot, scale and build sustainable programs as well as create public-private partnerships to accelerate impact. Federal resources already earmarked for maternal health, particularly through the Rural Health Transformation Program, present a critical opportunity. By helping states align these investments with proven models and complementary funding streams, we can expand the maternal health workforce, strengthen care delivery and bring services closer to communities in need. This is how momentum turns into measurable outcomes.

The opportunity in front of us is real, and the heartland is leading by example. Across states, leaders are showing that collaboration, practical solutions and relentless focus on execution can move the needle on one of the most pressing challenges of our time. If we continue on this path, the heartland will not only improve health outcomes, it will set a new national standard for how to achieve them.

Editor’s note: Angie Cooper is president of Heartland Forward, a Bentonville-based think-and-do tank. The opinions expressed are those of the author.