Wonks at Work ACHI

When we’re well rested, we can start our day in a good mood and are better able to respond to whatever the day brings. There are, however, many different things that can keep us from getting a good night’s sleep. For some, minimizing common disruptions to sleep is not enough, as they deal with sleep disorders that cause problems with the quality, timing, and amount of sleep. About 50 million people in the U.S. have a sleep disorder which can lead to the development of other health conditions such as depression and heart disease. In this episode, we delve into the world of sleep and its impact on health with Dr. Dimitry Fomin, who leads Mercy Clinic Sleep Medicine and Mercy Sleep Center in Northwest Arkansas.

One impact of the pandemic on our healthcare system is that it inspired some necessary creativity and interest in new ways of providing care. One alternative care model that saw increased interest was the hospital-at-home model. About 150 hospitals have adopted this model, in which hospitals provide intensive care at home for patients with certain conditions. In this episode, we learn about how hospital-at-home programs work from Katherine Prentice, director of telehealth services for St. Bernards Healthcare in Jonesboro, who heads up the St. Bernards AcuteHealth at Home program.

There are several programs underway in Arkansas aimed at improving maternal and infant health outcomes. One such program is Life360 HOMEs, part of Arkansas Health and Opportunity for Me, or ARHOME, the latest iteration of Medicaid expansion in the state. Life360 HOMEs are designed to provide additional, intensive supports to a number of target populations, including at-risk soon-to-be mothers. In this episode, we learn more about Maternal Life360 HOMEs with Dr. Kalena Jones, the system director of ARHOME programs for Baptist Health.

January 2024 marks 10 years since several key provisions of the Affordable Care Act took effect in Arkansas. In this episode, host Craig Wilson sits down with ACHI President and CEO Dr. Joe Thompson to discuss their perspectives on this anniversary. Dr. Thompson focuses on the impact of the state’s innovative approach to Medicaid expansion, while our host looks back at what it was like to purchase health insurance prior to the patient protections in the Affordable Care Act.

Moms are more likely to die during pregnancy or shortly after giving birth in Arkansas than in any other state. This is a shocking statistic, especially because maternal mortality is largely preventable. In this episode, host Craig Wilson asks University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology Dr. Nirvana Manning what can be done to make having a baby in Arkansas less risky for both mother and child.

Antibiotic resistance and the inappropriate use of antibiotics pose growing threats to public health, both here in Arkansas and around the globe. For U.S. Antibiotic Awareness Week, we’re joined by one of our public health partners to learn more about these issues and what healthcare professionals and the public should know about antibiotic resistance. Jordan Murdoch, a licensed pharmacist and a pharmacy consultant for the Arkansas Department of Health’s healthcare-associated infections and HIV programs, sits down with host Craig Wilson in this episode of Wonks at Work.