HJAR Sep/Oct 2021

HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF ARKANSAS I  SEP / OCT 2021 37 evidence-based home visiting services for women with high-risk pregnancies. Participating hospitals will work with a partner organization, such as Early Head Start, that is experienced in providing home visitation. The services will begin during pregnancy and continue through the baby’s first 24 months of life. Rural Life360 HOME Our Rural Life360 HOME will help sta- bilize and strengthen healthcare capacity in the state’s rural areas. Research indicates rural communities tend to have less access to health services, higher rates of chronic disease and behavioral health issues, and higher rates of premature death. To address these needs, DHS will contract with participating rural hospitals to provide new services. Rural Life360 HOMEs will provide Acute Crisis services in the hos- pital, making “just in time” crisis services available for clients with mental illness or substance use disorder. To strengthen their emergency response, Rural Life360 HOMEs Nell Smith Assistant Director Division of Medical Services Arkansas Department of Human Services also will receive funding for crisis training and telemedicine equipment deployed in ambulances. Rural Life360 HOMEs will also address their community’s social determinants of health. They’ll screen residents for health- related social needs and establish a referral system for connecting individuals to local services and resources. The Rural Life360 HOMEs will employ coaches or peer coun- selors to provide intensive care coordination for individuals with serious mental illness or substance use disorder. Success Life360 HOME The third Life360 HOME, Success, will serve groups of young adults — those in their 20s —most at risk of long-term poverty: vet- erans and individuals who have been incar- cerated, in the juvenile justice system or in foster care. As with the other Life360 HOMEs, we will contract with hospitals that want to become Success Life360 HOMEs. The hospitals will partner with experienced community service organizations, such as Goodwill or Our House, to address the health-related social needs these young adults have. Services will include connecting these clients with work and educational opportunities. In addition to operational funds, DHS will offer financial incentives for the Success Life360 HOMEs and their partner organi- zations when clients meet work and educa- tion goals or when the services result in a reduction in recidivism. The Arkansas Legislature approved AR- HOME as Act 530 of 2021, and the waiver application is currently under review by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. ARHOME is scheduled to kick off officially Jan. 1, 2022. n Nell Smith has two master’s degrees, one in jour- nalism and the other in public health. She combined those interests at the start of her career,working as a journalist covering healthcare for newspapers in Illinois and Arkansas. She then worked as a researcher and administrator for the policy analysis and research sec- tion of the Arkansas Bureau of Legislative Research, which serves as nonpartisan staff for the Arkansas General Assembly. She has worked at the Arkansas Department of Health and now at Arkansas DHS.