Health care

DHS adds telephone helpline for Arkansas Works requirement

Arkansas Works recipients who are subject to a work requirement will be able to call a new helpline from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week, the Department…

Arkansas cannabis groups announce merger

Two cannabis industry trade associations in Arkansas have merged to form a single organization. The merger of Arkansas Cannabis Industry Association (ACIA) and Arkansas Medical Marijuana Association is effective immediately,…

Arkansas Children’s wage increase sets pace among other healthcare organizations

Little Rock-based healthcare organization Arkansas Children’s, one of the state’s largest healthcare systems with roughly 4,300 workers, made a significant announcement last month: Starting Jan. 1, the minimum wage for…

UAMS receives $1.5 million gift for tuition scholarship

The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) received a $1.5 million gift from the estate of Carl R. Stout to create the R. Louise Stout Simmons, M.D. Endowed Scholarship…

Baptist Health CEO says Sparks acquisition will lead to stability

Baptist Health CEO Troy Wells said his hospital system’s acquisition of two campuses in the Fort Smith region was tricky due to negotiations with a publicly-traded company, but he expects…

Health sciences entrepreneurship boot camp returns for 3rd year

Applications are now open for the Health Sciences Entrepreneurship Boot Camp, a weeklong training program for undergraduate and graduate students that equips them with the skills and knowledge they need…

Arkansas startup unveils plans for state’s first accredited cannabis lab

Arkansas’ first announced cannabis testing lab will hold an open house and dedication next week as the Natural State moves closer to entering the fast-growing medical marijuana industry that is…

Mississippi County Hospital System enters service agreement with St. Bernards

The Mississippi County Hospital System (MCHS) is officially entering into an administrative service agreement with St. Bernards Healthcare. The new agreement will begin Nov. 1. Terms of the deal were…

Foundations work to bring trauma care to rural Arkansas

Trauma victims in rural Arkansas often are many miles and many precious minutes away from potentially life-saving care, decreasing their odds for survival until they reach a hospital. Statistics from…

Beebe defends Hutchinson’s work requirement as ‘pragmatic’ politics

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe defended Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s work requirement for Arkansas Works recipients, while former Gov. Mike Huckabee said President Clinton was more helpful when he needed something…

DO school on ASU campus to host Hospital Day

NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine on the Arkansas State University campus has more than 100 third-year medical students performing clinical rotations throughout Arkansas and the Delta region. On Thursday, (Dec….

Bentonville hospital first in NWA to offer nitrous oxide for labor and delivery

The Family Birth Place at Northwest Medical Center-Bentonville has started to offer nitrous oxide as a non-pharmacological option for pain management during labor, and Springdale-based healthcare provider Northwest Health announced…

Health expert says data still incomplete to assess Arkansas Works, Obamacare changes

Dr. Joe Thompson, CEO of the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement and a former state surgeon general, says the data is still incomplete to shape policy over two of the…

Arkansas high schools implement VR education focusing on concussions

Arkansas school districts are partnering with a health education nonprofit to launch a concussion educational program using virtual reality (VR). Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Saturday (Dec. 1) announced that Arkansas…

Study: Number of uninsured children rises in Arkansas, nation

The number of uninsured children increased from 2016 to 2017 in Arkansas and the United States. In Arkansas, it increased from 30,000 to 33,000, and from 4% of the population…

Cultivators say medical marijuana will be available in Arkansas by late spring 2019

More than two years after Arkansas voters approved medical marijuana in November 2016, the product could finally be available next year. At a Wednesday (Nov. 28) meeting of the Arkansas…

St. Bernards set to build new clinic in Monette

St. Bernards hosted a groundbreaking earlier this week for a new family medicine and urgent care clinic in Monette. The Buffalo Island Medical Clinic will be located at 21080 Highway…

Health insurance competition declines in half of U.S., study shows

Half of all states had less competitive health insurance markets, and Arkansas experienced the seventh largest decline in competition levels in 2017 from the previous year, according to a new…

Healthcare executives talk telemedicine, other issues in roundtable discussion

Telemedicine and virtual healthcare are the most important technology innovations right now disrupting the healthcare industry. That was one takeaway from a group of executives who gathered recently for a…

Arkansas to receive $2.8 million in pharmaceutical settlement

Attorney General Leslie Rutledge announced that Arkansas has joined with 42 other states and the federal government to reach an agreement with the pharmaceutical distributor, AmerisourceBergen Corporation (ABC) to settle…