Chris Spearn, Resilience Coordinator, Speaks at Arkansas Colleges of Health Education

Chris Spearn, an AFMC trauma-informed resilience coordinator, will present on the profound impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) on both urban and rural communities. Notably, children in rural communities are at a higher risk of experiencing multiple ACEs compared to those in urban areas. This increased risk presents significant challenges, including poorer health outcomes, lower educational achievement, and increased mental health issues.

Data Sciences Manager Presents in REDCapCon Plenary Session

SEPT. 2024; ST. PETERSBURG, FL — Kent Thompson, manager of AFMC’s data sciences team, presented at the plenary session at this year’s REDCap annual conference. His presentation focused on AFMC’s naloxone reporting tool, which enables first responders to report naloxone administrations while collecting demographic, location, and administration data. The tool sends alerts when a certain number of administrations occur within a specific time period.

JULY 2024; SAN DIEGO, CA — In July, 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 Esri User Conference. The conference is the world’s largest GIS conference, empowering individuals and organizations to make a difference in the world by showcasing the latest products and solutions that help transform complex data into actionable insights.

JULY 2, 2024; LAS VEGAS, NV — One of our goals at AFMC is to drive the future of healthcare through innovative technology solutions. Nathan Ray, AFMC SVP of Business Operations, recently showcased our forward-thinking approach at Customer Contact Week 2024 in Las Vegas. AFMC is uniquely positioned as a small nonprofit organization utilizing cutting-edge technology, quality assurance analyses, a Salesforce CRM platform for tracking and program management, and real-time access to data and trends that offer a variety of solutions to the State and Medicaid beneficiaries.

MAY 21, 2024; NORTH LITTLE ROCK — AFMC sponsored the American Heart Association (AHA) Heart Walk, AHA’s premier fundraising event promoting the importance of cardiac health.

Despite a muggy, cloudy day, several AFMC employees and their families attended the event, with everyone walking at least 2 miles (and some walking even more)! Altogether, AFMC joined over 1,200 walkers and helped raise over $200,000 to help save lives from Arkansas’ first and fifth leading causes of death — heart disease and stroke.

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.