MAY 20, 2024; LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas had the highest rate of maternal mortality in the U.S. from 2018-2021, according to the CDC. A Kaiser Family Foundation report from 2023 said that 44 mothers died for every 100,000 life births in Arkansas between 2018–2021. While the maternal mortality rate in other high-income countries has decreased from 1999–2019, the U.S. rate has increased.

MAY 10, 2024; ATLANTA, GA — In April, Sydney Lewis, MPH, AFMC’s data sciences supervisor, was selected to present her findings on a state-funded peer recovery support grant at the 2024 Rx and Illicit Drug Summit. The summit is the largest, most influential event addressing the opioid crisis, where experts from across the nation share their strategies and put their ideas into action.

MAY 5, 2024; WASHINGTON, D.C. — In March, Jerry Rushing, grant analyst for AFMC’s community resources team, was invited to present our successful grant work at the RCORP Grantee Reverse Site Visit (RSV) in Washington, D.C. The RSV brings partners, grantees, and stakeholders together to share best practices, challenges, and resources for substance use disorder (SUD) treatment programs. HRSA chose Jerry to present at the RSV to celebrate AFMC’s successes in SUD prevention, treatment, recovery, and sustainability.

AUGUST 24, 2023; LITTLE ROCK – The new SAMHSA Project AWARE (Advancing Wellness and Resiliency in Education) initiative will prioritize student mental health and bolster teacher support. Through the Arkansas AWARE 2023 grant, AFMC, an Arkansas-based health organization, will collaborate with state and local partners to improve student and teacher well-being and ensure school-aged youth have access to appropriate behavioral health services.

JUNE 11, 2020; LITTLE ROCK — Families in Hempstead and Howard counties have a new opportunity to get help for their younger family members. AFMC, with funding from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), is recruiting and leading a consortium of organizations that are serving people in the southwest region of Arkansas. Called the “Substance Abuse Resource Assistance Coalition” (SARAC), the coalition will coordinate services for young victims of opioid and substance misuse crime, and help families find resources and services.

JUNE 11, 2020; LITTLE ROCK — AFMC has received its 2020 Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS^®) certification for health plan reporting. HEDIS is a comprehensive set of standardized performance measures widely used to measure and improve health care quality. HEDIS measures are relied on by government regulators, health plan payers, provider organizations, employers and consumers to provide information, identify quality and help compare health plan performance and make reliable comparisons between managed care plans.