HJAR Mar/Apr 2021

58 MAR / APR 2021 I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF ARKANSAS RURAL HEALTH IF there is anything those of us in rural healthcare have learned over the past year, it is that we not only need each other, but we do things better together. For all of us, both rural and urban, there have been chal- lenges to reframe our thinking of what is really important. Our attention has turned closer to home — to the four walls we reside in, the family members we engage through- out our day, the local businesses we support and hope to sustain and the availability of healthcare in our local communities. In a sea of unknown, the things and people that truly matter have taken center stage, and we have found that we have friends in our COLUMN RURAL HEALTH partnering healthcare organizations and supporters throughout the state and nation who continue to pull us through when the going gets tough. To say we are thankful for each other and those who have been there for us is an understatement. Arkansas Rural Health Partnership (ARHP) was founded by a handful of rural hospital leaders who knew the significance and stabilizing force of home, community and healthcare. Our members recognized early on that if they wanted to continue to shape the health and wellness of their communities, they had to work together — hand-in-hand with local leaders, other rural hospitals and providers in south Arkansas, and state and federal partners — to assist with needed resources. They had to continue to listen to the concerns and needs of their residents and then begin to move the nee- dle on the issues that mattered most. This “coming together” process began in 2008 with five hospital administrators in three counties in Southeast Arkansas and has now grown to include 14 hospital members, 2 Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) and 82 member and affiliate clinics, span- ning 18 counties in rural South Arkansas. One could say that the ARHP team has learned how to stick together and “stay “COMINGTOGETHER ISABEGINNING, STAYINGTOGETHER IS PROGRESS, AND WORKING TOGETHER IS SUCCESS.” —HENRY FORD RURAL HEALTHCARE: A TIME FOR COLLABORATION