Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver and can be caused by a range of factors, such as viral infections, toxins, or some medical conditions. In 2018, Arkansas experienced a hepatitis A outbreak in which public health officials saw cases jump from just a handful to dozens each month. That outbreak subsided by the end of 2021, but hepatitis A isn’t the only form of hepatitis affecting Arkansans. To learn more, we’re joined on this episode of the Wonks at Work podcast by Dr. Matt Deneke, assistant professor in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.  

Break on Through: Dr. Matt Deneke

Arkansas is aging. By 2030, about 1 in 5 Arkansans will be 65 or older. Twenty years ago, that age group made up 14% of the state’s population. An aging populace requires an infrastructure that can accommodate increased demands on our healthcare system and a robust workforce that can provide the necessary long-term care and support. For an in-depth discussion on this topic, Rachel Bunch joins us on the Wonks at Work podcast. She's executive director of the Arkansas Health Care Association, which represents more than 90% of the licensed long-term care facilities in the state and recently announced plans to launch a new nursing school. 

Golden Years: Rachel Bunch

Cycling enthusiasm in Northwest Arkansas is not limited to mountain bike trails and long gravel rides through the Ozarks. Regional leaders envision 1,800 miles of shared-use and bicycle paths connecting communities across the region, allowing residents to make active transportation (e.g., walking, biking) part of their daily lives. Building that kind of infrastructure requires more than bike lanes and new trails, though. It also takes training, community outreach, pedestrian safety, and much more. Ryan Hale of Laneshift, a firm based in Rogers that specializes in bicycle and pedestrian planning and design, joins us on this episode of the Wonks at Work podcast.  

Send Me on My Way: Ryan Hale

Food insecurity — limited or uncertain access to food — is a significant challenge for our state, impacting nearly 1 in 5 Arkansans. That includes 1 in 4 children. However, not all Arkansas households that are impacted receive federal or state support. Some may rely on community programs and local food banks or, at worst, try to get by without any support at all. One approach to supporting food-insecure households is to integrate food pantries into the workplace. CHI St. Vincent Director of Nutrition and Food Services Tonya Johnson joins us on this episode of the Wonks at Work podcast to discuss the hospital system’s food pantry program, Feed Thy Neighbor.

Seek Up: Tonya Johnson

Many roadway safety initiatives depend on the notion that safe driving is a learned behavior, but it is clear that many of us still have a lot to learn. In Arkansas, about 65 pedestrians die in roadway accidents annually, and our state has the fourth-highest roadway fatality rate in the country, nearly double the national rate. A new effort to educate the next generation of drivers about roadway safety, launched as a partnership between the Arkansas Department of Transportation and the Arkansas Department of Education, rolls out to middle school students statewide this school year. To learn more about the program, named Street Smart Arkansas, we’re joined by Ellen Coulter, media communications manager with the Department of Transportation. 

Stickshifts and Safetybelts: Ellen Coulter

Changes are on the way for community health workers in Arkansas. Earlier this year, the Arkansas General Assembly approved the Community Health Worker Act, which will establish standardized training and a statewide certification process for community health workers and will allow those certified to receive compensation for their services from Arkansas Medicaid and private insurers. Unlike healthcare workers who operate in a clinical setting, though, community health workers may not have the infrastructure in place to make this transition seamlessly. To learn how other states have navigated similar transitions, we’re joined by Colby Takeda, co-founder of Pear Suite, a hub for thousands of community health workers across the country.

Navigating: Colby Takeda

A visit to the dentist is about more than clean teeth; it’s about whole health and wellness. Arkansas ranks poorly in oral health and has one of the lowest utilization rates for dental services in the country, but there are ongoing efforts to better understand and overcome barriers to care. In one of its latest initiatives, the Delta Dental of Arkansas Foundation partnered with the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute to gather new data and on-the-ground community perspectives on oral health in Arkansas. To learn more about that project and what they learned, we’re joined on this episode of the Wonks at Work podcast by Dr. Sharon Lanier, executive director of the Delta Dental of Arkansas Foundation.

When You're Smiling: Dr. Sharon Lanier

Obesity is a serious and costly chronic disease that has been widely recognized as a public health epidemic. Although there are accessible, affordable, and straightforward tools to address it in individuals and broader communities, obesity remains a widespread public health threat that increases one’s risk for developing other conditions such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and some forms of cancer. Trust for America’s Health recently published its “State of Obesity 2025” report, which notes that Arkansas has the fifth-highest adult obesity rate in the nation. To learn more about the state of obesity in Arkansas and policy options to address it, we’re joined on this episode of the Wonks at Work podcast by Dr. Arlo Kahn, ACHI’s medical director and a professor in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences who has dedicated much of the last quarter century to addressing this issue.

Don't Stop Believin’: Dr. Arlo Kahn

The growing need for mental health resources and support, both here in Arkansas and across the country, is complicated by the limited numbers of mental health professionals and other barriers to care, particularly in rural communities. When mental health resources are in short supply, friends, family members, and colleagues are often called upon to provide support. One program designed to equip them with the skills and confidence they need to be successful in those situations is Mental Health First Aid. To learn more about the program, we’re joined on this episode of the Wonks at Work podcast by Amanda Kuttenkuler, a senior programs officer with the Arkansas Rural Health Partnership and a Mental Health First Aid instructor.

Count on Me: Amanda Kuttenkuler

Twenty-five years ago, with billions of dollars set to begin flowing to states as part of a long-term settlement agreement with U.S. tobacco companies, Arkansas bucked a trend. While many states were poised to commit those funds to a wide range of purposes, sometimes unrelated to health care entirely, communities and public health leaders across Arkansas, including those here at ACHI, rallied together to ensure that the state's allotment was used solely to fund much-needed health programs. The result was the Tobacco Settlement Proceeds Act of 2000, which established seven programs to help improve the health of Arkansans. To learn how these programs have impacted our state, we’re joined on this episode of the Wonks at Work podcast by Dr. John Ahlen, retired president of the Arkansas Science and Technology Authority, who served on the Arkansas Tobacco Settlement Commission from 2001 to 2013. 

Count on Me: Amanda Kuttenkuler

Wonks at Work

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