CHCA August 2026 Newsletter

ThirtyYears In, Boston Mountain Rural Health Center, Inc. Hasn't Forgotten Why It Started

In 1994, a single clinic opened its doors in Marshall,Arkansas, with a simple promise: no one in the community would be turned away for lack of ability to pay.Three decades later, that promise has grown into Boston Mountain Rural Health Center (BMRHC), a federally qualified health center (FQHC) now serving twelve counties across Northwest, Central, and North Central Arkansas.

For CEO DebbieAckerson, the mission has always been the central focus She started at BMRHC as an assistant to the organization's first executive director, who became her mentor and showed her firsthand what a community health center could mean for the people it serves Today she leads an organization with almost 300 employees.

"We do not ever want to forget the reason that we're here," Ackerson said, "and that is to provide high quality, accessible health care to all the residents in our communities that we serve "

That mission is what drew Neil Langer,Associate Medical Director, to leaveTexas more than ten years ago After meeting with BMRHC leadership, he and his family made the move to work in Marshall,Arkansas.

er once treated have grown into im as colleagues.

r Jennifer Depriest, the ountain started long before she college one weekend, she got nly clinic in town At checkout, fee scale, a program that me.The visit ended up costing nce to me," she recalls, ke my rent and having my visit g g g care." Depriest returned home permanently not long after, eventually joining the organization she credits with helping her through a difficult moment. She's now in her 27th year.

alth is health too,” said psychiatric nurse Amy White "There's so many people who th depression and anxiety, and it doesn't make n. It doesn't make them different. It just makes n."

s with patients on depression, anxiety, and past rking hard to strip away the stigma that keeps le from asking for help in the first place. Showing up is often the hardest and most important step

tain's integrated care model medical, ehavioral health all under by design Patients don't have to navigate ems to get whole-person care.

ebbieAckerson echoes about the organization most of Boston Mountain's nearly 300 e in the communities they serve. is making our employees happy, that our e going to make our patients happy, and that's ients will want to be, somewhere they can tell e and the atmosphere is welcoming and that the employees are happy"

Attorney General Griffin Files Suit against Drug Manufacturers for Illegally Limiting PatientAccess

July 22, 2026 | Community Health Centers of Arkansas (CHCA) CEO Dr. Lanita Shaverd was among the healthcare leaders invited to attend ArkansasAttorney GeneralTim Griffin's announcement of a lawsuit against 13 drug manufacturers and related entities for alleged noncompliance withArkansasAct 1103.

Representatives from theArkansas Pharmacists Association, theArkansas HospitalAssociation, UAMS, Baptist Health, and other key healthcare stakeholders also attended the announcement, underscoring the broad coalition of support behind the state's enforcement efforts.

The lawsuit seeks to enforceArkansasAct 1103 and safeguard patient access to 340B medications throughout the state. With this action,Arkansas becomes the first state in the nation to pursue this type of enforcement against drug manufacturers under its own state law.

During a pre-conference briefing,Attorney General Griffin emphasized that the lawsuit's purpose is to compel compliance with the law

CHCAwill continue to monitor the case closely and provide updates on developments affectingArkansas's community health centers and the patients they serve.

On a related note, there Is news coming out of Washington DC this week about the SUSTAIN (Supporting Underserved and Strengthening Transparency,Accountability and Integrity) 340BAct. Be on the lookout for updates on that.

Strengthening Partnerships: Congressman French Hill's Office Visits CHCA

In July, Congressman French Hill's staffersAmeliaAllert and Nathan May visited Community Health Centers ofArkansas for a thoughtful discussion on healthcare access and community impact

These conversations are invaluable.They help ensure decision-makers understand how Community Health Centers directly serveArkansas families every day CHCAis grateful for the congressman's continued support of accessible, affordable healthcare in our communities.

Susan Ward-Jones, M.D. Elected Board Chair of Community Health Centers ofArkansas

Susan Ward-Jones, M.D., CEO of EastArkansas Family Health Center, Inc. (EAFHC), has been elected to lead the Board of Community Health Centers ofArkansas (CHCA), the largest primary care network in the state.

CHCABoard members chose Dr. Ward-Jones earlier this year, marking her second time in the role after previously serving as chair from 2009 to 2014. Her current three-year term began Wednesday, July 1. She replaces DebbieAckerson, CEO of Boston Mountain Rural Health Center, who was serving in an interim position

“I’m honored to lead this dynamic group of leaders as we navigate the ever-evolving healthcare landscape at the local, state, and national levels,” Dr Ward-Jones said “We’re excited about the opportunities ahead to advance rural health transformation, strengthen new partnerships, and improve health outcomes forArkansans. We also deeply appreciate the engagement of our state and federal delegation and their continued commitment to supportingArkansas’s community health centers and the vital role they play in serving our communities.”

As CEO of EAFHC, a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) headquartered in West Memphis, Dr. WardJones not only sees patients, but also oversees 12 healthcare delivery sites, three pharmacies and a staff of 279 employees. She is an internal medicine physician who earned a Bachelor of Science in biology from Dillard University and a medical degree from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

CHCANew Board Chair (continued)

Dr Ward-Jones is a long-time advocate for her community, holding several positions of leadership in local organizations and commissions. She is the recipient of numerous prestigious awards, including the Distinguished ServiceAward from theArkansas Department of Health in 2011 and the Calvin King Economic Development Award from theArkansas Democratic Black Caucus in 2016. She has also served on theArkansas State Board of Health and theArkansas Center for Health Improvement Policy Board.

As Board chair, Dr. Ward-Jones will provide guidance for CHCAand the community health centers (CHCs) it supports across the state CHCs deliver high-quality, affordable care to patients and reduce costs forAmerica's healthcare system. Health centers are consumergoverned, patient-centered health care organizations that provide cost-effective primary care in populations with limited access to healthcare CHCs inArkansas serve 368,248 patients across more than 250 locations.

AboutCommunityHealthCentersofArkansas

CHCA,thePrimaryCareAssociationforArkansas,isanonprofitorganizationestablishedin1985. CHCAworkstoexpandaccesstoaffordable,qualityhealthcarewhileservingasaunifiedvoicefor thestate’s12CommunityHealthCenters(CHCs)andtheirpatients.Together,CHCsoperatemore than250locationsacrossArkansas CHCAcollaborateswithlocal,stateandfederalpartners, organizations,andpolicymakerstoadvocateforpoliciesandregulationsthatstrengthentheCHCs’ abilitytoprovideaffordable,accessible,andcomprehensive,qualityhealthcareservicesto everyone,regardlessofabilitytopay.Learnmoreatchc-ar.org.

Howe to Serve on HIMSS Board

Dr. Marico Howe, Chief Information Officer at Community Health Centers ofArkansas, on being selected to serve on theArkansas HIMSS Chapter Board of Directors as Member-At-Large.

In this role, Dr. Howe will help shape health information and technology initiatives across the state, working alongside statewide healthcare leaders to drive innovation and digital transformation inArkansas healthcare. We're proud to see CHCArepresented in advancing high-quality, tech-enabled care for the communities we serve.

CHCAHires DataAnalyst

Nora Smith

Nora Smith joined CHCAin July as the newest Data Analyst In addition to working on the PCORI Delivering Hope Delivering HOPE (Helping Women Optimize Prenatal Equity) research study, she will support CHCA’s maternal health efforts to leverage data to improve patient-centered outcomes, strengthen reporting, and advance research initiatives.

Nora brings strong analytical abilities, data management experience, attention to detail, and a passion for transforming complex information into actionable insights. Her skills in data analysis, reporting, visualization, and collaboration will be valuable as we continue to expand our quality and informatics work

KnowYour Status: CHCAHighlights HIV Testing and PrEPon KATV

CHCATarget Populations Manager Kevin Holmes talked to KATV’s Chris Gay about the importance of regular HIV testing and PrEP. Whether you're negative, positive, or unsure, there's a path forward that starts with getting tested. See the full story below

Delivering Hope Celebration

CHCAand UAMS celebrated the Delivering HOPE Research Coordinators in July.Their work through the $17.5M Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute - PCORI-funded study with the UAMS Institute for Community Health Innovation is helping reduce prenatal health inequities acrossArkansas with more than 767 participants served so far.

Delivering Hope Celebration

CHCA UPCOMING EVENTS

ThisAugust 2-8, join us and the NationalAssociation of Community Health Centers for National Health Center Week as we celebrate the vital work of Arkansas Health Centers and the more than 1,500 Community Health Centers nationwide.

Health centers like you provide affordable, effective, comprehensive primary care to 52 million people across the country or 1 in 7 Americans, including 1 in 3 people in rural communities while saving the U.S. health care system billions of dollars a year by keeping patients healthy and out of hospitals.

Learn more about National Health Center Week at www.healthcenterweek.org.

This publication is supported by the Health Resources and ServicesAdministration (HRSA) as part of an award totaling $1,203,478 with 0 percentage financed with non-governmental sources. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA, HHS, or the US government. For more information, visit hrsa.gov.