Building a Stronger Physician Workforce for Arkansas

Heartland Whole Health Institute is committed to transforming health care delivery in the Heartland and that includes ensuring a strong physician workforce. To advance this goal, we partnered with the University of North Carolina’s Sheps Center to analyze Arkansas’ Graduate Medical Education (GME) landscape. This work will outline opportunities to expand GME programs statewide — paving the way for better access to care and improved health outcomes.

Why This Matters

Arkansas faces a critical challenge: ensuring access to quality health care for every community, especially in rural and underserved areas. While the state has made strides in primary care training, we continue to rank last among peer states in GME slots for key specialties like Obstetrics & Gynecology and General Surgery. These gaps have real consequences — impacting maternal health, behavioral health, and specialty care across the state.

Why We Undertook This Work

At Heartland Whole Health Institute, we believe solving systemic health care challenges requires collaboration and data-driven strategies. Expanding GME programs is essential to building a sustainable physician workforce. Without investment in residency training, Arkansas cannot meet growing demand for physicians or address persistent health disparities.

Our study set out to:

• Identify barriers to GME expansion, such as funding limitations and rural capacity.
• Highlight gaps in behavioral health, maternal health, and specialty care.
• Lay the groundwork for a coordinated statewide strategy to strengthen physician training.

Early Findings

The data is clear:

• Arkansas ranks last among peers in OB/GYN and General Surgery training slots.
• 97% of Arkansas counties are designated behavioral health shortage areas.
• Rural areas face severe workforce gaps, with only 30% of residency graduates practicing in underserved regions.

These findings underscore the urgency of expanding residency positions in critical specialties and creating pathways for physicians to serve rural communities.

Collaboration Is Key

This work is only possible through strong partnerships. To ensure our data analysis reflects the realities and needs of communities across Arkansas, we engaged more than 30 stakeholders with deep subject‑matter expertise from all five regions of the state. Your continued collaboration is essential as we refine a comprehensive set of strategies that state leaders can use to guide meaningful action. This menu of options will be finalized and published after the open forums are complete, ensuring it fully incorporates the insights and feedback gathered across the state.

We encourage you to register for an upcoming open forum in your area to learn more about our findings and to share additional perspectives. Together, we are removing barriers, aligning resources, and shaping solutions that will strengthen Arkansas’ health care system for generations to come.

For more information or to register, contact Sam Culpepper.