HJAR May/Jun 2024

HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF ARKANSAS I  MAY / JUN 2024 9 ONE on ONE Steven Collier, MD, FACHE President and CEO, ARcare Steven F. Collier, MD, FACHE, serves as president and CEO of ARcare. Collier was raised in Augusta, Arkansas, and graduated from Augusta High School in 1973. He then attended Baylor University and obtained a medical degree from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock. Collier began practicing medicine in Pine Bluff, then moved back to Augusta in 1981, where he established White River Rural Health, the beginning of ARcare. During his career, Collier has served on the Arkansas State Medical Board, Baptist Hospital Little Rock Board of Trustees, medical director for Triad Hospital, and chief of staff for Unity Health in 2000. In 2011, Collier was named the Eason-Shuler Community Health Centers Advocate of the Year for his outstanding service and contributions to state and federal legislative work. Presently, he serves on the boards of RiverWind Bank, Empower Healthcare Solutions, and UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute. Steven Collier is a community physician to his core. ARcare’s mission of “Health for All” was born from Collier’s vision of providing accessible healthcare to any and every patient, regardless of their plight in life. This mission continues to guide every decision and community initiative of the company. Under Collier’s leadership, the ARcare network has grown to more than 90 locations that stretch beyond the state’s borders to include Kentucky and Mississippi. Dianne Hartley, Editor Thank you for taking time out of your day. It’s truly an honor to speak with such a healthcare visionary. The network you have created is impressive. What drew you to medicine? Steven Collier, MD, FACHE What drew me to medicine was the service aspect of it and, really, helping people. The doctors that I was around drew me to medicine because, at first, when I left high school, I wasn't 100% sure what I wanted to do. I went to Baylor in Waco, got a job at the local hospital, Hillcrest Baptist, and I got to know the doctors. Even though I was just an orderly, that gave me some mentors. I saw the work they did and was very impressed. I made my final decision to become a doctor the summer of 1973 there inWaco. I was drawn to the excitement of the hospital, the OR and the ER, and taking care of patients. Editor Will you please share an overview of ARcare's mission? Collier ARcare's mission is “Health for All,” and that really is all encompassing. ARcare is a very complex organization. It’s complex because health isn't just about giving you a shot for a strep throat. It addresses the whole person, and that's been a challenge —especially in rural areas. We’ve had that philosophy since the ‘80s. I wouldn't say we had it from day one because day one there were things we had to establish; there was hardly anything in our counties. There sure was no network. So, I started with three or four clinics and then we gradually spread. Even though now it appears to be a massive network, its a network interconnected with a lot of synergy. It’s not just adding another town, it's interacting services, meaning the hospital network, the behavioral health network, emergency medicine. We've added all of those things and interconnected them, integrated them. You have to start somewhere. In the beginning, it was very simple, and today, it's the most complex that it can be. There are still some things that we don't do because of the complexity — we're not about managing hospitals. Now, we know there are people in the healthcare universe who are just like us at FQHCs [federally qualified health cen- ters], and they are doing more than we are by staffing or running a hospital, but I made a decision back in the late ‘90s not to over- step into inpatient care and procedural care. I feel that has really helped us. Our foundation is primary care. You're going to see as we talk, there are some peripheral areas of primary care. One thing that we did, probably 10 years ago, that I think is just genius was embed pediatricians