HJAR Nov/Dec 2019

52 NOV / DEC 2019 I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF ARKANSAS They make good sense, and provide a very solid return on investment in dollars, as well as in the lives of the people who comprise our communities. n LaShannon Spencer, Chief Executive Officer of Com- munity Health Centers of Arkansas, the statewide as- sociation for 12 health centers, with some 130 sites across the state, is passionate about ensuring that everyArkansan has access to high quality healthcare. Spencer believes that providers showing cradle-to- grave empathy and cultural awareness toward their patients is the key to improving population health. Spencer has more than 20 years of experience in designing, implementing, and managing multiple patient outcomes; public policymaking; advocacy; patient-physician relations; patient safety; and qual- itymeasures.She holds M.S.degrees in public health administration and health services administration and a B.S. in Mass Communications. She has completed her UNLV doctoral coursework in public health, con- centrating on the social determinants of health. Her professional memberships include the Ameri- can College of Healthcare Executives,National Public HealthAssociation,NationalAssociation of Health Ser- vices Executives,and theArkansas HeartAssociation. COMMUNITY HEALTH too many of the hospitals operating suffer from their own shortage of doctors and other medical professionals. For our part, Community Health Centers of Arkansas wants to continue providing train- ing opportunities for emerging physicians, and proving to them the value, for them and their patients, of keeping their talents in rural Arkansas. There are so many other benefits and potential partnerships to be explored. Community Health Centers stands ready to share our collective expertise on certain health care matters, creating more efficien- cies in rural medical treatment. We are asking Washington to think long and hard about how federally qualified health centers like ours fill essential needs for people who depend on the federal gov- ernment for answers and assistance. The Na- tional Health Service Corps and the Teaching Health Centers Graduate Medical Education Program make an indisputable difference. in mental and behavioral health, and giving addicts seeking treatment a place to go no matter what their circumstances are, CHCs are on the front lines of this battle,” Booz- man said. Recently, Cam Patterson, University of Ar- kansas for Medical Sciences chancellor, testi- fied before a state legislative committee about the increasing challenges of providing quality health care in rural Arkansas. Some rural hospitals are barely hanging on. Some have remained open only because theArkansas Legislature had the wisdom and forethought, from the outset, to take advan- tage of the Medicaid expansion made pos- sible by theAffordable CareAct. Other south- ern states refused to expand Medicaid, and whole bunches of those states’rural hospitals have continued to close at a scarily fast clip. Even though things aren’t quite as bad here at home, troubles are brewing. Of Ar- kansas’75 counties, 28 have no hospital, and “Community Health Centers of Arkansas wants to continue providing training opportunities for emerging physicians, and proving to them the value, for them and their patients, of keeping their talents in rural Arkansas.”