Our story

STATUS QUO IS NOT THE FUTURE STATE OF HEALTH

ACHI was envisioned as an organization dedicated to change — change that leads to improved health for all Arkansans. While we have made positive strides in changing Arkansas’s health environment, our work is far from finished.

Mission, Vision & Values

ACHI’s MISSION is to be a catalyst for improving the health of Arkansans through evidence-based research, public issue advocacy, and collaborative program development.

ACHI’s VISION is to be a trusted health policy leader committed to innovations that improve the health of Arkansans.

ACHI’s VALUES are trust, innovation, initiative, and commitment.

These are the fundamental principles that guide the center’s collective and individual decisions, strategies, and actions to improve the health of Arkansans.

Aerial view of a field
Two peoples' shadows

Our History

Throughout the past two decades, ACHI has focused on three major areas affecting the health of Arkansans. These include: (1) improvements in access to and quality of health care, (2) elimination of financial barriers due to a lack of health insurance coverage, and (3) mitigation of health risks in order to improve Arkansas’s underlying population health. Through these efforts, ACHI seeks to facilitate access to high quality, cost-effective care for all Arkansans, so that everyone may receive the right care at the right time in the right place.

Within each of these three areas, ACHI has pursued our mission to support policy initiatives, inform program development, and facilitate empirically based research. ACHI has emerged as a nationally recognized policy-setting organization that has benefited Arkansas and has become a model for other states across the nation.