Healthcare

Arkansas State University to study vaccine hesitancy

Many who live in rural parts of the Natural State were hesitant to take any of the COVID-19 vaccines offered after the pandemic engulfed the world in 2020. This was…

J.B. Hunt inducted into MD Anderson philanthropic society

Lowell-based carrier J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. was inducted into The Anderson Assembly at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center after giving $1 million to the cancer center….

Bentonville IT executive launches medical billing service

Medical practice owners in Northwest Arkansas considering outsourcing their insurance and patient billing have a new option. Mikal Murders of Bentonville has launched a HIPAA-compliant, full-service medical billing and consulting…

Arkansas Children’s Foundation promotes Enid Olvey to president

Enid Olvey was promoted to president of the Arkansas Children’s Foundation, the fundraising arm of the Arkansas Children’s Hospital that is based in Little Rock with a second hospital in…

AHA study: State short of nurses, other professions

Arkansas in 2021 had only 76% of the registered nurses required to provide the national average level of care demand. The state fared better or worse compared to other states…

ACHE adds master’s degree program

A master’s degree in public health will be yet another degree program to be offered by the Fort Smith-based Arkansas Colleges of Health Education (ACHE), with the first class set…

Rural Emergency Hospital bill expected to help financial crisis for some

Rep. Lee Johnson, R- Greenwood, filed a bill aimed at helping rural hospitals in financial distress. HB 1127, the Rural Emergency Hospital Act, would grant the Arkansas Department of Health…

State of the state: Health emergency probably ending, hospitals’ financial emergency not

Arkansas may soon exit a public health emergency even as some of its hospitals are facing a financial one so severe that some are on the brink of closing. When…

New director named for Veterans Health Care System of the Ozarks

The Veterans Health Care System of the Ozarks has hired George Velez to head up oversight of the medical center in Fayetteville and seven outpatient locations, including Fort Smith, Harrison…

American Heart Association backs $2M seed round for Bentonville startup Sober Sidekick

A Bentonville startup with a notable lead investor is nearly halfway to completing a $2 million seed funding round. Chris Thompson, CEO and co-founder of Sidekick Mobile Technologies, said the…

Dr. Michelle Krause to lead UAMS health system and hospital

The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) named Michelle W. Krause, M.D., MPH, senior vice chancellor for UAMS Health and chief executive officer for UAMS Medical Center, and Ahmed…

Medicaid’s future looms with health care, budget ramifications for legislators, new governor

Big factors affecting Arkansas’ Medicaid program loom in the near future. This legislative session will require clear healthcare and fiscal policy direction from Gov. Sarah Sanders and the new GOP…

The health care landscape: Looking back at 2022 and ahead to 2023

The year 2022 is behind us, and although we began last year hoping for a gradual return to normal after two years in a public health emergency, we continue to…

Lyon College names founding dean for dental school

Lyon College appointed Wednesday (Jan. 11) Dr. Burke Soffe of Roseman University of Health Sciences College of Dental Medicine (CODM) in South Jordan, Utah, as founding dean of the Lyon…

Mercy has hired 32 doctors, specialists in recent months

Mercy said Monday (Jan. 9) it has hired 32 doctors and specialists toward its goal of hiring 100 as part of a $500 million expansion plan in Northwest Arkansas. The…

WelcomeHealth in Fayetteville plans 10-year anniversary event

Fayetteville medical clinic WelcomeHealth will celebrate a milestone on Jan. 19. The free health clinic has an open house planned from 10-11:30 a.m. to celebrate a decade at its existing…

Gov.-elect Sanders chooses Allison Bragg for Inspector General position

Gov.-elect Sarah Sanders named Allison Bragg as Inspector General on Friday (Jan. 6). She will replace Elizabeth Thomas Smith in the role. Created in 2013, the mission of the Office…

Arkansas medical marijuana sales up 4.3% in 2022

Arkansas medical marijuana sales set a new record in 2022 with $276.3 million in revenue, up 4.3% compared with the previous record of $264.9 million in 2021, according to the…

Lapovations closes oversubscribed Series A funding round

Fayetteville medical device company Lapovations has closed an oversubscribed Series A funding round led by investments from multiple angel investors and groups. According to a Tuesday (Jan. 3) news release, the company…

Act 109 qualifies state, public school employees for transformative weight loss surgery

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 36.4% of Arkansans struggle with obesity, ranking our state as the ninth-worst in the rate of obesity. That’s 1,103,155 people who fall…

Alice Walton announces partnerships to expand health care workforce

Updated city of Fort Smith budget includes almost $17 million in proposed cuts

Arvest Bank promotes Bret Jones to Pea Ridge president

Tate officially opens its manufacturing facility in Pocahontas