HJAR Mar/Apr 2021

HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF ARKANSAS I  MAR / APR 2021 59 Mellie Boagni Bridewell Chief Executive Officer Arkansas Rural Health Partnership individual organization. Professional round- tables among hospital leadership teams have enhanced communication and team- work among member hospitals. Often, one ARHP project uncovers the next missing link, which then becomes the newest ARHP service or program. In this way, the path for- ward is ever-so-carefully and strategically paved. Over the years, ARHPhas challenged the resigned fate of the status quo response, “This is just the way rural healthcare is going to be.” Instead, the ARHP organization has played a critical role in providing educa- tion and advocacy on the assets, opportuni- ties, collaboration and innovation possible within the rural context at the regional, state and national levels. Thirteen years later, Ar- kansas Rural Health Partnership is stronger than ever. For more than a decade, ARHP has worked together to strategically align with community members, key stakeholders, traditional and nontraditional partners and funders to blaze new, innovative paths together. As BrianThomas, President of Ar- kansas Rural Health Partnership and CEO of Jefferson Regional so eloquently states, “Together we want to change the destiny of rural hospitals across south Arkansas; survival isn’t enough. The script needs to be altered so that rural providers and health systems are recognized and sought out across the state and nation for their inno- vation, sheer determination, and resilience in the face of constant challenge.”Not only are ARHP hospitals stronger together, but they have continued to take each challenge head-on as a united front. At the end of the day, we firmly believe that the heart of rural healthcare transformation begins and ends in rural — together. n Bridewell photo courtesy of Arkansas Medical News together” over the past 13 years. Our board of directors, which is comprised of our member hospital administrators, has expe- rienced turnover in these past 13 years as we have seenmany administrators come and go (and come back). Yet, one thing has always been consistent throughout the years, and that is the commitment these leaders have to their respective hospitals and the respect they have for one another. Rural areas face myriad challenges to building healthy communities — from pro- vider shortages and low healthcare reim- bursement rates to small patient volumes and older, sicker and poorer populations. Our rural safety net providers (such as health centers, rural health clinics, Critical Access Hospitals, public health departments and others) are constantly consumed with meeting the needs of patients in our rural communities while struggling financially with outsourcing costs, high cost of staffing, declining facilities and the costs to provide technology to compete with larger provid- ers. With limited economies of scale and heavy dependence on public payers, provid- ers sometimes feel the need to compete with each other, potentially resulting in unneces- sary duplication of services and additional strains on already fragile finances. Rural hospital administrators often feel isolated with little administrative staff to lean on. Collaboration among Arkansas Rural Health Partnership rural administrators and staff over the years has demonstrated enhanced service delivery and improved coordination by building economies of scale and leveraging the strengths of each “Together we want to change the destiny of rural hospitals across south Arkansas; survival isn’t enough. The script needs to be altered so that rural providers and health systems are recognized and sought out across the state and nation for their innovation, sheer determination, and resilience in the face of constant challenge.” BRIAN THOMAS, PRESIDENT OF ARKANSAS RURAL HEALTH PARTNERSHIP AND CEO OF JEFFERSON REGIONAL