An aging Arkansas populace means increased demands on our healthcare system and the need for a workforce that can provide long-term care and support. In this episode of our Wonks at Work podcast, we’re joined by Rachel Bunch, executive director of the Arkansas Health Care Association.

Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver and can be caused by a range of factors, such as viral infections, toxins, or some medical conditions. In 2018, Arkansas experienced a hepatitis A outbreak in which public health officials saw cases jump from just a handful to dozens each month. That outbreak subsided by the end of 2021, but hepatitis A isn’t the only form of hepatitis affecting Arkansans. To learn more, we’re joined on this episode of the Wonks at Work podcast by Dr. Matt Deneke, associate professor in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. For more, see our reports on hepatitis B and hepatitis C infections in Arkansas.

Health care, public health, and the support systems we have in place to make Arkansans healthier were key areas of focus for state lawmakers during the 2025 regular session of the 95th Arkansas General Assembly. With the session now at an end, it’s time to look back from a healthcare perspective to understand what happened and what has become, or will soon become, the new law of the land. In this episode of the Wonks at Work podcast, we’re joined once again by Michelle Kitchens, director of governmental affairs and community outreach here at the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement.

Although essential to overall health and well-being, not every Arkansan has access to fresh, healthy food. A working group appointed by former Gov. Asa Hutchinson found food deserts in 62 of Arkansas’s 75 counties in 2022. Filling some of those gaps, farmers markets and other community-focused solutions have evolved to serve areas that don’t have a supermarket, and, in some cases, simply can’t support one. In this episode of the Wonks at Work podcast, we learn more about efforts to re-introduce local food to Arkansas communities, schools, and families from Dan Spatz, the proprietor of a 400-acre farm in Conway named Healthy Flavors Arkansas.

In Arkansas and around the country, private equity groups have a growing financial interest in health care. While private equity investment can revive struggling hospitals or reinvigorate stagnant ones, critics accuse some of loading hospitals with debt, stripping their assets, and leaving communities to deal with the aftermath. That’s what happened in Hope, Arkansas, last year when the owner of Wadley Regional Medical Center, Dallas-based Steward Healthcare Group, declared bankruptcy. The hospital was immediately at risk of closing, but fortunately there were leaders in the community who would not let that happen. In this episode of the Wonks at Work podcast, we learn more about this cautionary tale from Clay Hobbs, chief operating officer of Pafford Medical Services, which partnered with the community to save their local hospital.

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.