New Partnership Brings Advanced Heart Care Closer to Rural Arkansans
Bentonville, Arkansas (April 17) – Today, Mercy announced a collaboration with Boston Mountain Rural Health Center, Inc. on cardiology care in Northwest Arkansas. In partnership with Heartland Whole Health Institute (the Institute), the pilot initiative uses virtual visits to connect rural residents with care.
Arkansas has some of the nation’s highest heart disease rates, with rural residents facing significant obstacles to specialty care. To reduce barriers to receiving care, the program will connect visitors to the Boston Mountain clinics to virtual visit with Mercy specialists. By eliminating long drives and waits, this initiative aims to address a critical need in underserved rural communities.
The Institute plays a convening role in this initiative. By bringing Northwest Arkansas health care providers together, the Institute gathered industry experts to develop and pilot this model. As the initiative takes form, the Institute will monitor the delivery model and analyze the results to inform future telehealth work in rural Arkansas and the planned Bentonville Health Care Campus.
“By bringing the right partners together to test and learn, we’re building care models that can scale and endure. This work is helping lay the foundation for the Bentonville Health Care Campus as a hub for advanced specialty care, innovation and virtual access – extending high-quality care well beyond Northwest Arkansas.”
– Dr. Claude Pirtle, President, Heartland Whole Health Institute.
This pilot program reflects Mercy and the Institute’s commitment to expanding high-quality specialty care in underserved communities and leveraging technology to bridge geographic gaps in access.
