Hope, Arkansas, is a cautionary tale of what can go wrong when private equity groups take over local hospitals. It’s also a story of what a community can achieve when it comes together. In this episode of the Wonks at Work podcast, we speak with Clay Hobbs of Pafford Medical Services.

As disturbing as the reported opioid overdose death toll has been over the past decade, a 2018 study suggested that many states were likely underreporting those deaths. The reason was that coroners and medical examiners were not specifying the drug contributing to the cause of death on death certificates. To better understand drug overdose deaths in Arkansas, state lawmakers passed a law in 2023 addressing this challenge. In this episode of the Wonks at Work podcast, we speak with Dr. Ted Brown, director of the Arkansas State Crime Lab and the state’s chief medical examiner, to discuss the impacts of the law and his work to answer questions about how Arkansans have died.

A little over half of Arkansans have dental coverage, and even among those with coverage, only 30% of adults and 50% of children used any services, according to an ACHI analysis. Forgoing oral health care can lead to infections, chronic pain, tooth loss, and exacerbation of other health issues such as diabetes and heart disease. Patients who do not have access to or cannot afford regular dental care are often left to seek emergency care in the hospital or access low- or no-cost services in charitable settings. In this episode of the Wonks at Work podcast, we speak with Dr. Terry Fiddler, executive director of Arkansas Mission of Mercy, which organizes volunteers to host free, pop-up dental clinics.

Even if you may not look forward to going to the dentist, you could be taking your experience for granted. For individuals whose brains function differently, such as people with diagnoses like autism, going to the dentist can be an anxiety-inducing event. In this episode of the Wonks at Work podcast we speak with Lyon College School of Dental Medicine’s new associate dean for clinical affairs, Dr. Ashley McMillan, about oral health access and accommodations for neurodivergent patients to get needed dental care.

Rapid economic and population growth like what’s taking place in Northwest Arkansas can be exciting, but it can also stress existing housing, education, transportation, and healthcare infrastructure. The Northwest Arkansas Council Health Care Transformation Division, an organization established to help shape the region’s development, and Heartland Whole Health Institute have released a new report that assesses the healthcare transformation currently underway and outlines future goals. Key objectives include building a sufficient healthcare workforce to respond to the demands of a growing population and ensuring that healthcare dollars stay in the Northwest Arkansas economy. To learn more about the report, we’re joined on this episode of the Wonks at Work podcast by Dr. Paul Umbach, founder of the healthcare and higher education consulting firm Tripp Umbach, which led the report’s development.

Now more than ever, schools are seeking to provide students with a broad scope of wellness, prevention, and treatment so they can thrive inside and outside the classroom. Dozens of schools across Arkansas have adopted a model known as the school-based health center. These are staffed clinics on school grounds that provide medical and mental health care, and in some cases oral health and vision services. Students and staff don’t have to leave school for appointments, and studies have shown the centers have the potential to improve educational outcomes. To learn more about these centers, we’re joined on this episode by Tamara Baker, executive director of the School-Based Health Alliance of Arkansas.