As Arkansas policymakers have wrestled with the problem of maternal mortality, one major obstacle has been the prevalence of maternal care deserts in the state. Stone County is one of them.
Only 30 hospitals among Arkansas’ 75 counties still offer labor and delivery services, according to the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement. Many counties also have limited access to prenatal care. A 2023 study by ACHI found no obstetricians working in the county. A recent March of Dimes report on maternal care deserts also found very limited availability of prenatal care in Stone County.
In May, Gov. Sarah Sanders announced a new initiative, “Claim Your Care,” which seeks to steer expectant mothers to the local county health units. The initiative includes a website and a toll-free hotline that is available Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
A recent press release from the Arkansas Department of Health says that through the toll-free number, 1-844-808-2340, as through the website, ClaimYourCareAR.com, “Callers can find their nearest Arkansas Health Unit (AHU), get answers to questions about services provided at AHUs, and schedule an appointment for women’s and maternal health services.
The website also provides links to sign up for Medicaid and other financial assistance.
Mary Ann Long, administrator of the Stone County Health Unit, says that maternal health appointments are available on Mondays.
Long says that at the health unit, expectant mothers can obtain a variety of services in addition to routine prenatal care. They can get pregnancy testing, STD testing, breastfeeding support, mental health screenings, and education on nutrition. They can also get help connecting with other assistance in their community.
Long believes it is important to let people know about the care available from the health unit.
“They’re working so hard on that maternity program,” she said. “And it’s so important with the challenges that we face.”
There are limits to what the health units are able to do. At some point in the pregnancy, they will refer a person to a provider that can handle labor and delivery. They can monitor for health conditions that might indicate higher risk during pregnancy, but if risk factors are found, that also necessitates a referral.
Arkansas State Surgeon General Dr. Kay Chandler said of the health units, “Our goal is not to keep them the entire time, because we can’t deliver. Obviously, in the local health units, there are not providers who deliver babies, but they do provide excellent prenatal care.”
Chandler said the state felt the outreach initiative of Claim Your Care was necessary. She said the state did some research on awareness of healthcare options among women of childbearing age.
“About 70 percent did not know that you can go to your local health unit in your county, and they can provide you with prenatal care,” she said.
Chandler said that community health workers are being added at local health units, and the state is working on increasing that. Of community health workers, Chandler said, “They don’t have medical education, but they have education about healthcare needs. They’re there to provide a link from the patient to the resources that they need.”
Chandler, who is herself an OBGYN, sees pregnancy care as expanding beyond simple prenatal visits, and believes that the expansion of community health workers, as well as doula services, can help with that.
“Maternal care is more of a team based approach,” she said.
Chandler knows there are many different factors that affect a healthy pregnancy. Her wish list for maternal health in Arkansas includes women going into pregnancy as healthy as possible. She believes that county health units can be helpful here, too.
Chandler says of pregnancy, “In order to have the best outcome, you must be in the best health you can be beforehand.”
She says, “A woman can go for a pre-conceptual visit to her doctor, if she has a doctor. If she doesn’t have a doctor, she can go to the Arkansas Health Unit, and get screening. Get a blood pressure check … make sure she’s not pre-diabetic. Make sure immunizations are up to date. Listen to the heart, and just see: are there risk factors?”
In taking on Arkansas’s maternal healthcare crisis, health units might find themselves taking on a challenge. Even as the $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program, part of the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” provides funds for programs in rural areas, other parts of that bill go into effect in January that are expected to cut $137 billion from Medicaid spending in rural areas, according to the independent health news organization KFF.
This loss of funding could have a heavy impact on rural hospitals, and one effect could be the closure of more labor and delivery units, which can be expensive to operate.
The current push to use Arkansas Health Units as part of the solution takes an existing resource and applies it to the ongoing problem of maternal health in Arkansas. Health policy experts say other measures are needed. But if the initiative is successful in reaching the women who need it, it could soon begin to have an impact on the maternal mortality rate in Arkansas.
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This is the third in a series of articles addressing maternal care in Stone County. Anyone with experiences seeking maternal care in Stone County that they would like to share may contact reporter Michelle Nowlin at mposeyphoto@gmail.com.
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