Arkansas Foundation for Medical Care, Inc.

AFMC is a quality improvement organization, and leads Consortium members to establish the Arkansas Rural Taskforce for Opioid Response (ARTOR) with committed healthcare organizations and others with interests in substance- or opioid-use disorder (SUD/OUD) to launch foundational prevention, treatment, and recovery core activities in a six-county area in Arkansas. The proposed catchment area, with HRSA-designated rural counties (Clay, Craighead, Greene, Poinsett, Mississippi, and Randolph, Arkansas counties), is associated with a high risk for drug overdose and minimal access to OUD/SUD treatment for residents. AFMC partners with the following primary Consortium members: 1) 1st Choice Health Care is a non-profit, Joint Commission accredited, Federally Qualified Health Center, HRSA FTCA deemed, community-governed organization. 2) Mid-South Health Systems, Inc. (Arisa Health) is Arkansas’s leading integrated behavioral health system. Member affiliates integrate the professional staff and services of Professional Counseling Associates, Mid-South Health Systems, Ozark Guidance, and Counseling Associates. 3) Unity Health (OB/GYN Clinic) is a non-profit health system serving many surrounding counties; however, specifically provides services to pregnant, postpartum, and low-income women in Randolph County. 4) East Arkansas Family Health Center is a Federally Qualified Health Center located in the Mississippi Delta that provides services to underserved populations in Crittenden, Poinsett, Mississippi, and Phillips counties, whose mission is to provide accessible, affordable, comprehensive, and quality health care to communities, one patient at a time. 5) Arkansas Division of Community Correction (ADCC) oversees the state's non-traditional correction programs, such as probation and parole, as well as community correction centers that offer drug/alcohol treatment and vocational programs in Clay, Crittenden, Greene, Mississippi, Poinsett, and Randolph counties. The Consortium and community collaborators/stakeholders engage in activities to raise community awareness on SUD/OUDs; track data (Performance Improvement Measurement System (PIMS)) on individuals accessing SUD/OUD services in the target area; offer peer mentoring and recovery services; help increase screening for SUD/ OUD using evidence-based standardized screening tools; and implement a referral process to connect “at risk” target populations (low income, pregnant/ postpartum women, homeless, and individuals with justice system involvement) with AFMC’s peer recovery specialists.