Arkansas Center for Health Improvement

10/30/2026

Thank you to everyone who joined us for our 2026 Friends of ACHI Appreciation Event on Tuesday, and to all our partners who were unable to attend. Our work would not be possible without your ongoing commitment to improving health outcomes for Arkansans!

The event included the announcement of the 2026 Dr. Tom Bruce Arkansas Health Impact Award honorees, as chosen by our board. This year's honorees are Dr. Terry Fiddler and the late Suzanne McCarthy. McCarthy's husband, Dr. Richard McCarthy, and family were on hand to accept the award on her behalf.

10/29/2026

Our board has chosen to honor the late Suzanne McCarthy with the Dr. Tom Bruce Arkansas Health Impact Award, which recognizes individuals who have had outstanding impacts on the health of Arkansans. McCarthy co-founded ACHI in 1998 and served as our founding senior associate and director of government relations until her retirement in 2019. Her vision and leadership were key to many of the advances Arkansas made in public health over the past three decades. She died late last year; her loss is deeply felt by those of us at ACHI who had the pleasure to work with her.

10/29/2026

Dr. Terry Fiddler is a 2026 recipient of the Dr. Tom Bruce Arkansas Health Impact Award, which is presented annually by ACHI's board to honor individuals who have had outstanding impacts on the health of Arkansans. For the past 20 years, Fiddler has been a driving force behind Arkansas Mission of Mercy, which holds annual clinics to provide free dental care to underserved Arkansans.

10/28/2026

Tuesday night our board honored Dr. Terry Fiddler and the late Suzanne McCarthy with the Dr. Tom Bruce Arkansas Health Impact Award, which recognizes individuals who have had outstanding impacts on the health of Arkansans. For the past 20 years, Fiddler has been a driving force behind Arkansas Mission of Mercy, which holds annual clinics to provide free dental care to underserved Arkansans. McCarthy co-founded ACHI in 1998 and served as our director of government relations until her retirement in 2019. See more in our news release: https://achi.net/news-releases/dr-terry-fiddler-suzanne-mccarthy-honored-with-dr-tom-bruce-arkansas-health-impact-award/

10/26/2026

ACHI Assistant Director of Analytics Sarah Crawford has been selected by AcademyHealth, the leading professional organization in the U.S. dedicated to advancing the fields of health services research and health policy, to serve on its Oral Health Interest Group Advisory Committee.

Sarah Crawford, ACHI’s assistant director of analytics, has been selected by AcademyHealth to serve on its Oral Health Interest Group Advisory Committee.

10/21/2026

Arkansas, like other rural states, faces challenges recruiting and retaining physicians, nurses, and other healthcare providers. ACHI President and CEO Craig Wilson discusses how ACHI, with support from partners, is providing insight into the state's healthcare workforce supply.

See much of our work on this topic, including dashboards, infographics, and explainers, here: https://achi.net/arkansas-healthcare-workforce/

10/21/2026

Dr. Joe Thompson, ACHI president emeritus and medical director and a professor of pediatrics and public health at UAMS - University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, was inducted Saturday into the National Academy of Medicine.

Dr. Joe Thompson, ACHI president emeritus and medical director and a professor of pediatrics and public health at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, was inducted October 17 into the National Academy of Medicine, a congressionally chartered organization that serves as the scientific aca...

10/16/2026

We're hiring! ACHI has an opening for a data analyst. Get details and apply: https://lnkd.in/g_6GpSmJ

08/18/2026

ACHI President and CEO Craig Wilson spoke to the Rotary Club of Little Rock today about ACHI’s work in the state and offered insights into key healthcare and public health issues. Among the topics he discussed were maternal and infant health, rural health, trends in the Arkansas Health Insurance Marketplace, and upcoming changes for Medicaid.

08/18/2026

Check out this great piece by the Clinton School of Public Service spotlighting ACHI Health Policy Analyst Lauren Sermersheim, who graduated from the Clinton School in May. We are excited to have her on our team!

Alumna Lauren Sermersheim ('25) has joined the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement (ACHI) as a Health Policy Analyst.