Heartland Whole Health Institute Announces Angela Lappin as Vice President, Chief of Value-based Initiatives
Heartland Whole Health Institute welcomes Angela Lappin as Vice President, Chief of Value-based Initiatives, effective January 12, 2026. The Institute, founded in 2019 by philanthropist Alice Walton, focuses on health care transformation by working with the health care industry in the development of new payment models, predictive analytics, and virtual care technology.
Lappin will help guide the Institute’s work to design, launch, and grow whole-person care and value-based payment approaches in Northwest Arkansas and beyond. Her focus will include helping partners work together effectively, supporting new ways to deliver care, engaging providers, and putting clear measures in place to ensure programs are well run and deliver tangible results.
Lappin brings more than 15 years of experience advancing population health and value-based care. She began her career in bedside nursing before transitioning into leadership roles focused on improving health outcomes for individuals and large populations.
Most recently, Lappin served as Vice President of Primary Care Performance and Population Health at Mercy, where she led the design and implementation of innovative care delivery systems. Her work included optimizing care models, integrating digital transformation, expanding virtual and in-person care, addressing social determinants of health, and driving practice transformation efforts.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Angela Lappin to our leadership team,” said Dr. Claude Pirtle, President of Heartland Whole Health Institute. “Her ability to bring partners together, support providers, and keep programs focused on meaningful results directly advances our mission to expand access, improve quality, and make care more affordable across the Heartland.”
“I’m honored to join Heartland Whole Health Institute and excited to collaborate with such a forwardthinking team,” Lappin said. “As an Arkansas native, returning home to help improve health outcomes across my home state is deeply meaningful. I look forward to building innovative solutions that strengthen care delivery and create lasting change for communities across the region.”
About Heartland Whole Health Institute
Founded in 2019 by philanthropist Alice Walton, Heartland Whole Health Institute puts a whole health approach at the center of the broader health care system to address the current health care crisis. The purpose is to lower costs, improve quality, and broaden access to health care in the Heartland by catalyzing new delivery models, using whole health principles, that can be replicated to disrupt the national health care system. The Institute was driven by its founder’s health care experience, and furthered by research revealing that the United States has one of the highest levels of health care spending worldwide yet relatively low rankings in overall health. In conjunction with Alice L. Walton School of Medicine, the Institute will transform the national health care landscape, beginning in the Heartland.
