AUDIO: Governor Hutchinson’s Weekly Address | Nurses Make A Difference

LITTLE ROCK – This is National Nurses Week in Arkansas, and today I’d like to talk about how the pandemic has highlighted the value of our nurses and about the laws the General Assembly passed this year that allow nurses to offer more services.

Over the past year, nurses have risked their health to care for COVID patients in hospitals, private homes, nursing homes, and prisons and jails.

Susie Marks, executive director of the Arkansas Nurses Association, says that many nurses, especially bedside nurses, have worked in settings they never thought they’d work in.

Some Arkansas nurses served in COVID hot spots in New York, Texas, and Louisiana. Nurses don’t run from danger, Ms. Marks said, they run towards it. Those who worked in other places returned to Arkansas with innovative solutions for patient care and to minimize risk to health care workers.

Registered nurses are the largest health care profession in the United States, and 60,000 of them work in Arkansas. The theme for this year’s National Nurses Week is “You Make a Difference,” a nod to the unparalleled care and service they have provided during the pandemic.

Professional nursing is an indispensable link in the care of hospitalized patients, and the demand for registered nurses is growing as Baby Boomers age, and as the quality of health care and medicine helps Americans live longer than ever.

The cost-effective safe and high-quality health care services that registered nurses provide will play an ever-more important role in our health care delivery system.

The General Assembly passed several laws this year that expand the services that nurses can offer. Act 569 allows Advance Practice Registered Nurses to serve as a primary care provider in the Medicaid Program without a physician agreement. This allows people who live in rural areas to see an advanced practice registered nurse for certain care and prescriptions rather than drive to a city.

Act 412 creates the Full Independent Practice Credentialing Committee, which can grant full practice authority to certified nurse practitioners.

Act 449 allows a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist to work in consultation with licensed physicians, dentists, and others who are licensed to order anesthesia.

And Act 607 grants full practice authority to Certified Nurse Midwives, which allows them to evaluate patients, diagnose medical conditions, and order diagnostic tests, and initiate and manage treatment and care plans.

These new laws expand access to medical care and allow nurses to work to their education level.

As we add nursing programs at the high school and community college level, and increase the ability of nurses to provide services, Arkansas is poised to increase the number of nurses. As we have seen during the pandemic, we can’t live without them. Nurses make all the difference. Thank you, nurses, for choosing this profession.

Governor Promotes Hunter Ballard To Deputy Chief of Staff for Internal Operations

LITTLE ROCK – Governor Asa Hutchinson has promoted Hunter Ballard, director of operations since 2019, to deputy chief of staff for internal operations. Mr. Ballard has worked for the Governor since 2015.

“From the day we hired Hunter during my first year in office, his commitment to serve the people of Arkansas has been evident,” Governor Hutchinson said. “As he served in his first position as a counselor in constituent services, we saw his leadership potential, so Hunter was a natural fit to move into the role of deputy chief of staff.”

Mr. Ballard, whose first day as deputy chief is May 17, replaces Ateca Foreman, whom the Governor appointed director of the Arkansas Fair Housing Commission.

Mr. Ballard is from Poyen and graduated from Poyen High School in 2008. He is a graduate of Henderson State University, where he earned a bachelor’s in business administration. He started as one of the Governor’s constituent services counselors in August 2015, became deputy director of that department in April 2016 and director in July 2016. He was promoted to director of operations in May 2019.

Sunday COVID-19 Active Cases and Vaccines Update from the Arkansas Department of Health

Active Cases Data for Sevier County
Total Active Cases: 2
Active Confirmed Cases: 2
Active Probable Cases: 0

Active Cases Data for Howard County
Total Active Cases: 2
Active Confirmed Cases: 1
Active Probable Cases: 1

Active Cases Data for Little River County
Total Active Cases: 8
Active Confirmed Cases: 5
Active Probable Cases: 3

Active Cases Data for Polk County
Total Active Cases: 3
Active Confirmed Cases: 2
Active Probable Cases: 1

Active Cases Data for Pike County
Total Active Cases: 0
Active Confirmed Cases: 0
Active Probable Cases: 0

SW Arkansas Survey by U of A System Division of Agriculture

Atmosphere, options and safety at the top of consumers’ list

By Ryan McGeeney U of A System Division of Agriculture

Fast Facts:

· Survey conducted by Division of Agriculture initiative looks at consumer priorities

· Data collected from 199 southwestern Arkansas residents · Survey results at www.uaex.uada.edu/createbridgesresources

LITTLE ROCK — A friendly atmosphere, options, and safety measures were southwestern Arkansans’ top three values in choosing which restaurants and stores to frequent, according to the results of a recent survey conducted by the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.

The survey was conducted in March by CREATE BRIDGES, an initiative of the Division of Agriculture’s Community and Economic Development Department, based in Little Rock. CREATE BRIDGES is an acronym for “Celebrating Retail, Accommodations, Tourism and Entertainment by Building Rural Innovations and Developing Growth Economies.”

The survey received responses from 199 residents living in Howard, Little River, and Sevier counties.

Julianne Dunn, economic educator for the Division of Agriculture, said the most popular products purchased were clothing and locally made or crafted goods, according to the survey results.

“Additionally, a majority of respondents want the conveniences added during the pandemic to remain, such as ordering online, picking up at the store and curbside delivery,” Dunn said.

CREATE BRIDGES is designed to bring two three-county regions together to collaborate, gather data, develop and implement strategies to assist small, rural businesses in retaining and expanding their customer base.

The CREATE BRIDGES 3C’s Region, consisting of Howard, Little River, and Sevier counties, was selected in the fall of 2018. Like other programs and agencies, however, CREATE BRIDGES administrators had to reassess their objectives in 2020 while facing the challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We agreed that consumers’ needs and desires may have changed as a result of the pandemic and that it would be beneficial to small retail businesses to know what their customers sought,” Vickie Williamson, economic development director for Little River County, said.

Williamson and Tiffany Maurer, economic development director for Sevier County, generated a short list of questions in January for consumers to answer online.

All respondents were entered into a drawing for a gift card as an incentive to participate. There were 199 responses across the three counties, providing helpful data and comments for local businesses. The complete survey results are available at www.uaex.uada.edu/createbridgesresources.

For more information about CREATE BRIDGES, visit www.uaex.uada.edu/createbridges or contact Julianne Dunn at 501-671-2158 or jbdunn@uaex.edu.

To learn more about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on Twitter at @UAEX_edu.

Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine Now Fully Accredited

by Talk Business & Politics staff (staff2@talkbusiness.net)

The Arkansas Colleges of Health Education (ACHE) announced Monday (May 10) that Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine (ARCOM) received accreditation from the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation, the only accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education to accredit all osteopathic medical schools in the United States.

After a comprehensive review of ARCOM’s four-year pre-accreditation status, the COCA found that ARCOM met the accreditation requirements thus granting accreditation to the medical school, a news release said.

https://talkbusiness.net/2021/05/arkansas-college-of-osteopathic-medicine-now-fully-accredited/

COVID-19 Deaths Decrease Significantly in April

By ANTOINETTE GRAJEDA

In our monthly conversation with the assistant editors of ArkansasCovid.com, we discuss the continued impact of the pandemic on Arkansans. During the month of April, the state averaged four COVID-19 deaths per day for a total of 113 deaths. That represents a 70 percent decrease in deaths from March.

https://www.kuaf.com/post/covid-19-deaths-decrease-significantly-april

COURTESY / ARKANSAS COVID

ACLU Preparing Legal Challenge To Arkansas Abortion Ban

By STEVE BRAWNER / TALK BUSINESS & POLITICS

The American Civil Liberties Union is planning lawsuits against two recent laws passed by Arkansas legislators banning abortions and gender affirming medical procedures, while other laws could draw legal challenges from that group and others.

The ACLU will sue in Arkansas’ Eastern District U.S. District Court to block those two laws, said Holly Dickson, ACLU executive director.

“We’ll be filing before the bills go into effect asking that those laws never go into effect,” she said.

https://www.ualrpublicradio.org/post/aclu-preparing-legal-challenge-arkansas-abortion-ban

Tuesday's COVID-19 Active Cases and Vaccines Update from the AR Dept of Health

Active Cases Data for Sevier County
Total Active Cases: 3
Active Confirmed Cases: 2
Active Probable Cases: 1

Active Cases Data for Howard County
Total Active Cases: 3
Active Confirmed Cases: 2
Active Probable Cases: 1

Active Cases Data for Little River County
Total Active Cases: 6
Active Confirmed Cases: 3
Active Probable Cases: 3

Active Cases Data for Polk County
Total Active Cases: 6
Active Confirmed Cases: 3
Active Probable Cases: 3

Active Cases Data for Pike County
Total Active Cases: 0
Active Confirmed Cases: 0
Active Probable Cases: 0

Tourism Secretary Hurst Touts Legislative Accomplishments, Speaks to State Image

by Roby Brock (roby@talkbusiness.net)

Stacy Hurst, Arkansas’ secretary of Parks, Heritage and Tourism, said while the recent legislative session spiked emails to her agency due to negative national headlines, there were also a number of positive achievements made in the 93rd General Assembly.

Appearing on this week’s edition of Talk Business & Politics, Hurst said the national press garnered from legislation centered around “culture wars” has resulted in an increase in opinions for her agency to field.

“We’re getting some emails from individuals mainly. And we just respond that Arkansas is a very welcoming state. We’re known for our hospitality,” she said, noting that there has not been the type of economic response seen in North Carolina after it passed, and then rescinded, a transgender bathroom law a couple of years ago.

https://talkbusiness.net/2021/05/tourism-secretary-hurst-touts-legislative-accomplishments-speaks-to-state-image/

Nursing Assistant Training Program at UA Cossatot in Ashdown

Pictured left to right, 2021 AHS Nursing Assistant Program Instructor and Participants: Melba Hess (instructor), Tania Calloway, Railee Schmidt, Liza Embry, Jasmyn Smith, Anna Moss and Melissa Cooper.

UA Cossatot’s Continuing Education department and Ashdown High School partnered together to offer Ashdown High School seniors the chance to receive nursing assistant training in high school, to prepare for the certified nursing assistant exam after graduation. After passing this exam, these students can earn a license to work as a Certified Nursing Assistant. Students who participated in the training program received 90 hours of training, with sixteen hours being in a clinical setting at Pleasant Manor Nursing Home in Ashdown.

The seven students who participated in the nursing assistant training program included: Melissa Cooper, Tania Calloway, Liza Embry, Anna Moss, Aleia Schmidt, and Jasmyn Smith.

Ashdown High School is the first high school to partner with UA Cossatot to offer a nursing assistant training program to high school seniors when launching the first course in 2018-2019. Job prospects for Certified Nursing Assistants are bright. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that the demand for Certified Nursing Assistants will rise at a rate of eleven percent through 2026, which is much faster than the average job growth. As the population ages, demand for round-the-clock nursing services will continue to be needed.

VIDEO: New CEO Introduced at Sevier County Medical Center Board Meeting

Lori House was introduced as the new CEO of the Sevier County Medical Center. She has been serving as the Revenue Cycle Manager for Healthy Connections in Mena.

Arkansas to Stop $300-a-week Federal Jobless Benefits; U.S. April Job Numbers Below Estimates

by Talk Business & Politics staff (staff2@talkbusiness.net)

Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Friday (May 7) stopped the state’s participation in federal supplemental jobless benefits which provided an extra $300 a week to those who qualified. The move comes as U.S. jobless data showed far fewer returning to work than expected.

The $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan signed into law in early March by President Joe Biden included $300-a-week federal unemployment benefits through September. The plan also included $1,400 per-person stimulus checks and $350 billion to state, local and tribal governments to cover deficits resulting from the pandemic. The $300 a week equals a $15,600 annual salary.

https://talkbusiness.net/2021/05/arkansas-to-stop-300-a-week-federal-jobless-benefits-u-s-april-job-numbers-below-estimates/

LIVE VIDEO: Governor Hutchinson Provides Weekly Media Update Tuesday (05.11.21) 130PM

Governor Asa Hutchinson will provide a weekly briefing to media at 1:30 p.m., Tuesday, May 11 2021.

Saturday's COVID-19 Update from the Arkansas Department of Health

Active Cases Data for Sevier County
Total Active Cases: 2
Active Confirmed Cases: 1
Active Probable Cases: 1

Active Cases Data for Howard County
Total Active Cases: 5
Active Confirmed Cases: 3
Active Probable Cases: 2

Active Cases Data for Little River County
Total Active Cases: 6
Active Confirmed Cases: 3
Active Probable Cases: 3

Active Cases Data for Polk County
Total Active Cases: 8
Active Confirmed Cases: 3
Active Probable Cases: 5

Active Cases Data for Pike County
Total Active Cases: 3
Active Confirmed Cases: 1
Active Probable Cases: 2

In its Friday update, the Arkansas Department of Health reported 222 new cases; 2,176 active cases; 175 hospitalized, which is down 2 from Thursday; 37 on ventilators, which is up 3 from Thursday; deaths added today, 2, for a total of 5,759; a total of 337,170 cases; PCR tests, 3,086; antigen tests, 573.

The Health Department reported that the top counties for new cases are Benton, 37; Pulaski and Washington with 24 each; and Faulkner, 17.

Governor Hutchinson released the following statement on today’s COVID-19 numbers: 

“We continue to see similar case numbers to last week's report. Our vaccine supply in the state is plentiful, and we are prepared to vaccinate any Arkansan 16 and older. Check with the Department of Health to find a vaccine appointment near you.”

Here are today's COVID-19 statewide numbers:

AUDIO: Governor Hutchinson’s Weekly Address | Sunken Lands Water Trail

LITTLE ROCK – On Wednesday, I traveled to Poinsett County for the dedication of the state’s newest water trail. Today I’d like to share a bit of the story behind the Sunken Lands Water Trail, which was created by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, the St. Francis Lake Association, the Trumann Area Chamber of Commerce, and by what insurance companies refer to as an act of God. The roots of the story reach back to the New Madrid earthquakes more than two centuries ago.

There is enough history, heartbreak, and political intrigue per square foot of this 37,000-acre patch of northeast Arkansas to keep genealogists, geologists, foresters, engineers, historians, and novelists busy for years.

The Sunken Lands Water Trail, which is a path for paddlers rather than pedestrians, is the Game and Fish Commission’s fourteenth water trail. Sunken Lands takes its name from the earthquakes in the early 1800s when the land literally sank and disappeared under water.

The quakes began in December 1811 and continued through March 1812. Land in the counties of Craighead, Mississippi, and Poinsett disappeared. An eyewitness wrote that the ground moved like waves on the land, and that the earth burst open and sent up huge plumes of water and sand. Where forests and hills once dominated, only flooded land remained. The quakes dug chasms as deep as fifty feet and dumped land into the St. Francis River. Many who survived the quakes lost everything they owned and moved away. Some who moved west settled at Crowley’s Ridge, the only high ground left.

For more than a hundred years, Arkansans worked to make something of the waterlogged regions. Their ingenuity produced the Steep Gut Floodway with a lock and sluiceway in 1926, and Marked Tree Siphons, which went into operation in 1939. A newspaper reporter for the Marked Tree Tribune wrote that the siphons lifted “the whole river thirty feet across a dam and deposited it on the other side.”

The siphons and the floodway controlled and drained the water, and allowed towns such as Lake City, Turrell, Lepanto, Marked Tree, Tyronza, and Trumann to thrive. A loop off U.S. 63 runs through much of the Sunken Lands region, including the St. Francis Sunken Lands Wildlife Management Area, famous for its hunting and fishing. The Marked Tree Siphons is on the National Register of Historic Places, which you can still see and which continues to siphon water.

More than two-hundred years later, Arkansas has found another use for the waterway by creating the water trail, which will draw thousands of tourists. The St. Francis Sunken Lands Water Trail was conceived by local officials and nature lovers, who were assisted in their dream by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. Game and Fish Biologists Jeremy Brown and Jessica Holman spent hundreds of hours on the project. Chris Colclasure, deputy director of Game and Fish, Neal Vickers, retired executive director of the Trumann Area Chamber of Commerce, and Congressman Rick Crawford supported the project.

On Wednesday, I saw the trail from the shore and from a boat. The day was sunny, and the scenery was beautiful. Sunken Land Water Trails is another jewel in the Natural State’s crown, a place packed with history and primed for the future.

Severe Weather Briefing from the National Weather Service

The threat for strong to severe thunderstorms will exist Sunday afternoon and evening across the Four State Region along and ahead of a weak cold front that will shift southeast into the area. Damaging winds, large hail, and locally heavy rainfall will be the main threats with these storms, before they gradually diminish Monday morning. However, additional showers and embedded thunderstorms will become more numerous across the region Monday night through Wednesday north of the front, with the threat for heavy rainfall and localized flooding of low lying, poor drainage areas possible.

Renewable Energy Company To Invest $40 Million To Build Three Arkansas Plants

By ROBY BROCK / TALK BUSINESS & POLITICS

Drax Group announced Thursday it will begin constructing the first of three new “satellite” pellet plants in Arkansas. Drax Group is a worldwide sustainable biomass production and supply company.

The three plants are together expected to produce approximately 120,000 metric tons of sustainable biomass pellets a year from sawmill residues, supporting the renewable energy company’s plans to increase self-supply to its power station in the U.K.

Drax will begin construction of the first plant later this month near a West Fraser sawmill in Grant County – with commissioning expected in October. The company will begin construction on two more plants in other locations in the coming months.

https://www.ualrpublicradio.org/post/renewable-energy-company-invest-40-million-build-three-arkansas-plants

Drax Biomass, which is headquartered in Monroe, Louisiana, plans to build three plants in Arkansas to produce pellets for use in its power station in the United Kingdom.

CREDIT DRAX BIOMASS

Friday COVID-19 Active Cases and Vaccines Update from the Arkansas Department of Health

Active Cases Data for Sevier County
Total Active Cases: 2
Active Confirmed Cases: 1
Active Probable Cases: 1

Active Cases Data for Howard County
Total Active Cases: 6
Active Confirmed Cases: 3
Active Probable Cases: 3

Active Cases Data for Little River County
Total Active Cases: 4
Active Confirmed Cases: 3
Active Probable Cases: 1

Active Cases Data for Polk County
Total Active Cases: 8
Active Confirmed Cases: 3
Active Probable Cases: 5

Active Cases Data for Pike County
Total Active Cases: 4
Active Confirmed Cases: 2
Active Probable Cases: 2

In its Thursday update, the Arkansas Department of Health reported 188 new cases; 2,151 active cases; 177 hospitalized, which is down 4 from Wednesday; 34 on ventilators, which is down 1 from Wednesday; deaths added today, 3, for a total of 5,757; a total of 336,948 cases; PCR tests, 3,565; antigen tests, 819.

The Health Department reported that the top counties for new cases are Benton, 26; Craighead, 18; and Faulkner, 16.

Governor Hutchinson released the following statement on today’s COVID-19 numbers:

“When the first vaccines were distributed in December, we had over 1,000 hospitalizations and nearly 21,000 active cases. Looking at today's report, we can tell the vaccine is effective. Getting vaccinated protects you, your neighbors, and all those you care about.”

Here are today's COVID-19 statewide numbers:

UAMS Ranked 39th in Primary Care on U.S. News & World Report’s List of Best Medical Schools

By Linda Satter

April 28, 2021 | The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) ranked 39th in primary care in U.S. News & World Report’s 2022 Best Medical Schools list.

“I’m very pleased with this finding. Being in the top 50 schools in the country for primary care fits directly into our mission to improve the health, health care and well-being of Arkansans,” said Christopher Westfall, M.D., executive vice chancellor and dean of the UAMS College of Medicine.

“We are extraordinarily pleased that so many of our graduates choose a primary care specialty and are actually practicing primary care when they finish training,” said James Graham, M.D., executive associate dean for academic affairs in the College of Medicine. “And our new three-year primary care track, which will open at the UAMS Northwest Regional Campus in Fayetteville this fall, should make our performance even better.”

https://news.uams.edu/2021/04/28/uams-ranked-39th-in-primary-care-on-u-s-news-world-reports-list-of-best-medical-schools/

Christopher T. Westfall, M.D., dean of the UAMS College of Medicine, speaks at the 2020 white coat ceremony. Image by Bryan Clifton

Arkansas Tax Revenue Surplus More Than $700 million; Year-To-Date Collections Up 11%

By TALK BUSINESS & POLITICS STAFF

Calendar shifts with tax filing, an improving economy and federal stimulus payments helped boost April tax revenue almost 20% more than the forecast, and pushed the state’s year-to-date revenue surplus – “net available revenue” collected beyond the estimate – to $716.8 million.

The Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration (DFA) reported Tuesday that gross revenue for fiscal year-to-date (July 2020 to April 2021) is $6.43 billion, up 11.1% compared with the same period in 2019-2020 and up 12.4% over the budget forecast. Part of the gain includes a shift in collections when the 2020 tax due date was moved from April to July, according to the DFA report.

https://www.ualrpublicradio.org/post/arkansas-tax-revenue-surplus-more-700-million-year-date-collections-11

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