NWA Health Summit 2025

Schedule & Sessions

Working Today for A Healthier Tomorrow: The Arkansas Minority Health Commission

Welcome: Pearl McElfish, PhD, UAMS
Keynote Speaker: Kenya Eddings, MPH, CWWS, CRS, Minority Health Commission, Arkansas Department of Health

Ozark 1

Session 1

From Community to Clinical: Connecting Social Needs to Patient Care Through SHARE HIE and HARK NWA

Presenters: Justin Villines, SHAR HIEE, and Josh Hall, HARK NWA

Ozark 1

Session 2

The Time Value of Value-Based Care

Presenter: John Findley, MD, Heartland Whole Health Institute

Ozark 2

Session 3

One Foot in the Boat, One Foot on the Dock

Presenter: Craig Wilson, JD, Arkansas Center for Health Improvement

Ozark 3

Grab some lunch and connect with other attendees.

Ozark 1

Session 4

Threats to Health Coverage in Public Policy

Presenter: Laura Kellams, Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families

Ozark 1

Session 5

Lessons Learned from South Dakota’s Implementation of Medicaid CHW Reimbursement

Presenter: Ben Tiensvold, Community Health Worker Collaborative of South Dakota

Ozark 2

Session 6

Care for the Community: Incorporating SDOH into Clinical Care

Presenter: Angie Hughes Walker

Ozark 3

One Year Later: Updates on Maternal Health in Arkansas

Moderator: Cara Osborne, MSN, CNM, ScD, Ingeborg Initiatives, Inc | Heartland Forward

Panelists: Representative Aaron Pilkington; Nell Smith, ADH; Cassie Cochran, ADH; Representative Denise Garner

Ozark 1

Welcome and Keynote

Working Today for A Healthier Tomorrow: The Arkansas Minority Health Commission

9:30 AM to 10:30 AM

Ozark 1

Welcome: Pearl McElfish, PhD, UAMS
Keynote Speaker: Kenya Eddings, MPH, CWWS, CRS, Minority Health Commission, Arkansas Department of Health

Summary

Join keynote Kenya Eddings as she kicks off the 2025 Health Summit with a deep dive into minority health in Arkansas. During her presentation, she will explore the Arkansas Minority Health Commission programming and how those programs support minority and underserved communities across the state. In addition, Ms. Eddings will share avenues for coordinating current and future programming to improve health outcomes for minority populations.

Closing Panel

One Year Later: Updates on Maternal Health in Arkansas

2:30 PM - 3:30 PM

Ozark 1

Moderator: Cara Osborne, MSN, CNM, ScD, Ingeborg Initiatives, Inc | Heartland Forward

Panelists: Representative Aaron Pilkington; Nell Smith, ADH; Cassie Cochran, ADH; Representative Denise Garner

Summary

Moderator Cara Osborne regroups with members of the Maternal Health Steering Committee to reflect on the past year leading up to the signing of the Healthy Moms Healthy Babies Act. This panel will also address next steps to improve women’s and maternal health education, increase access to quality maternal health services, and improve statewide coordination for maternal health data and reporting.

Breakout Session 1

From Community to Clinical: Connecting Social Needs to Patient Care Through SHARE HIE and HARK NWA

10:40 AM to 11:40 AM

Ozark 1

Presenters: Justin Villines, SHARE HIE, and Josh Hall, HARK NWA

Summary

This session will demonstrate how incorporating social needs data from platforms like HARK NWA into SHARE HIE enhances clinical decision-making and supports whole-person care. Participants will gain practical strategies for implementing these tools, strengthening collaboration between healthcare providers and community organizations. By the end of the session, attendees will understand how unmet social needs impact patient health and why addressing the person behind the diagnosis is essential to delivering effective care.

Breakout Session 2

The Time Value of Value-Based Care

10:40 AM to 11:40 AM

Ozark 2

Presenter: John Findley, MD, Heartland Whole Health Institute

Summary

This session will discuss how providing value-based care can improve patient outcomes and provider well-being. Participants will gain a better understanding of the core components of a high-value delivery system, learn about the evolutionary path of value-based care and the incredible return on this investment, and recognize the importance of said investment as an antidote to provider burnout. The upfront investment can be daunting, but it yields dividends in patient outcomes, provider team wellbeing, and a better healthcare delivery system.

Breakout Session 3

One Foot in the Boat, One Foot on the Dock

10:40 AM to 11:40 AM

Salon 3

Presenter: Craig Wilson, JD, Arkansas Center for Health Improvement

Summary

This session will describe the development and implementation of the Arkansas Health Care Payment Improvement Initiative, which included value-based payment strategies in primary care (patient-centered medical homes, or PCMH) and specialty care (episodes of care). Focus areas include early stakeholder engagement and payer participation, financial incentives and clinical pathways, and PCMH transformation milestones and quality metrics. The session also includes lessons learned and environmental changes that can inform future value-based payment efforts.

Breakout Session 4

Threats to Health Coverage in Public Policy

1:00 PM to 2:00 PM

Ozark 1

Presenter: Laura Kellams, Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families

Summary

Proposed changes at the federal and state levels could impact thousands of Arkansans' access to health care as well as threaten community health and service providers' financial stability. This session will provide up-to-date information on proposals to change Medicaid and other health coverage policies, including where the decisions are being made and how individuals can participate in the process and share their experiences.

Breakout Session 5

Lessons Learned from South Dakota’s Implementation of Medicaid CHW Reimbursement

1:00 PM to 2:00 PM

Ozark 2

Presenter: Ben Tiensvold, Community Health Worker Collaborative of South Dakota

Summary

Ben Tiensvold will share how South Dakota developed and implemented a Medicaid reimbursement scheme for Community Health Workers (CHWs). Despite being one of the last states to develop a CHW workforce, South Dakota was one of the first states to receive approval for Medicaid reimbursement for CHW services. This session will detail the lessons learned throughout this process while also developing a CHW workforce and incorporating the tribal Community Health Representatives into statewide efforts. Since its inception in January 2020, the Community Health Workers Collaborative of South Dakota (CHWSD) worked closely with CHW Programs as well as South Dakota Medicaid officials to enact policy changes and to ensure reimbursement was available for all types of CHW programs. The first reimbursement claim was submitted in March of 2023. Since then, multiple organizations have filed reimbursement claims for CHW services, including medical/clinical programs, community-based CHW programs, and cross-trained CHW programs.

Breakout Session 6

Care for the Community: Incorporating SDOH into Clinical Care

1:00 PM to 2:00 PM

Salon 3

Presenter: Angie Hughes Walker

Summary

Social determinants of health (SDOH) play a significant role in shaping an individual’s overall health. This session will discuss strategies for addressing SDOH in clinical settings and offer guidance on how to effectively engage clinical staff and health professionals in identifying and mitigating the social factors that create barriers to health care access.

Presenters & Panelists