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Arkansas 

THE STATE’S BUSINESS NEWS AUTHORITY. 

Business 

UPDATED DAILY: ArkansasBusiness.com 

Exec Q&A: 

Dr. Joe 

Thompson 

Th e state’s surgeon 

general says health 

care is at “a tipping 

point brought on by an 

unhealthy population 

and rising health care 

costs.” [P30] 

The List [P22] 

Largest Retirement 

Communities 

Whispers [P3] 

Subpoena in Hot 

Springs hospital deal 

The state Legislature’s approval 

of the expansion of 

Medicaid to the 250,000 

Arkansans who aren’t on it is 

critical, says Dr. Dan Rahn. 

Although the expansion 

will help, it won’t solve all of 

the financial problems of the 

University of Arkansas for 

Medical Sciences. 

Rahn, UAMS chancellor, on 

Tuesday told the Arkansas 

House Committee on Public 

Five Years Later 

The only person who has ever publicly 

claimed knowledge of John Glasgow’s 

fate is working as a prison barber 

and hoping for early release for two 

unrelated felonies. [P9] 

VOL. 30, NO. 4 JANUARY 28-FEBRUARY 3, 2013 $1.50 

SPOTLIGHT: The Future of Health Care in Arkansas 

Chancellor Dan Rahn says the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences is continuing to explore a strategic partnership 

with St. Vincent Health System to trim expenses. [PHOTO BY MICHAEL PIRNIQUE] 

Money Woes 

Expanding Medicaid 

Critical for UAMS 

By Mark Friedman 

MFriedman@ABPG.com 

Health, Welfare & Labor that the 

projected cost of treating uninsured 

patients at UAMS’ hospital 

would rise to $66 million in 

2014 if Medicaid isn’t expanded. 

With expansion to cover 

Arkansans earning up to 138 

percent of the poverty level, that 

cost could be reduced to $38 

million — below the $42.5 million 

cost reported for 2010 in a 

study by the Arkansas Hospital 

Association. 

“We cannot sustain that 

trend” of rising treatment costs 

if Medicaid isn’t expanded, 

Rahn told the committee. 

In a recent interview with 

Arkansas Business, Rahn said 

UAMS was pushing for Medicaid 

expansion while trying 

to cope with a flurry of other 

potential financial emergencies: 

A possible $10 million in federal 

cuts stemming from budget 

reductions for Medicare and the 

National Institute of Health; 

A rising number of uninsured 

patients this year; and 

UAMS CONTINUED ON PAGE 12 

Vote for the best golf courses in Arkansas at ArkansasBusiness.com/Golf 

Mentally Ill 

Uninsured 

Bog Down 

Treatment 

By Kate Knable 

KKnable@ABPG.com 

Concerns over mental health 

services have spiked nationally 

since last month’s school 

massacre in Connecticut, but 

mental health professionals in 

Arkansas say dealing with the 

mentally ill comes down to one 

thing: insurance. 

At any given time, about 5 

percent of Arkansas’ population 

struggles with mental illness 

that is too serious to allow 

them to manage their own care, 

according to Tom Grunden, 

executive director of the Little 

Rock Community Mental 

Health Center. 

Those who are insured have 

plenty of options, the professionals 

say. Those who are 

uninsured can’t be turned away 

by hospitals and publicly funded 

community mental health 

centers, but their treatment 

options are limited and they 

drain resources away from even 

the paying patients. 

Hospitals are “the safety net 

for society right now,” said Barry 

Pipkin, CEO of The BridgeWay, 

a private psychiatric hospital in 

North Little Rock. 

The chronically severely 

mentally ill are often without 

health insurance or Medicaid 

and, in crises, seek care at 

hospital emergency rooms or 

psychiatric hospitals like his, 

Pipkin said. 

MENTAL HEALTH CONTINUED ON PAGE 18

Centers for Youth and Families Key Leaders support the goals and mission of our organization throughout the 

year. We are so grateful to continue our mission through the support of each one of our Key Leaders. 

Silver » 

BrONZe » 

Charles A. Frueauff Foundation 

The Frank & Emily Smith Foundation 

Donna & Mack McLarty 

Roy & Christine Sturgis Charitable 

& Educational Trust 

Alarmco 

ACE Glass Construction Corporation 

Acxiom Corporation 

Rebecca & Mark Allison 

Annunciation Greek Orthodox 

Church 

Arkansas Blue Cross & Blue Shield 

Arkansas Cardiology, P.A. 

Arkansas Children’s Hospital 

Arkansas Humanities Council 

Katherine & Tracy Baltz 

Bank of Little Rock 

Bank of the Ozarks, Inc. 

Baptist Health 

Joellen & Rick Beard 

Ben E. Keith 

Peyton Bishop 

Blue & You Foundation for a 

Healthier Arkansas 

Lynette & Paul Bowersock 

Shelley & Darek Braunecker 

Brave New Restaurant 

Susan & Austin Brightop 

C. B. Foundation 

Dr. Michael & Shelly Calhoun 

Capital Hotel 

The Carroll Mortagage Group 

Casa La Pace Bed & Breakfast 

Catholic High School for Boys 

Charles Cella 

CenterPoint Energy 

Merri & Robert Chandler 

City of Little Rock 

Gert Clark 

Wesley Clark 

Virginia Stuart Cobb 

Ellon & Rogers Cockrill 

Mary Lou & Bill Cravens 

Crow-Burlingame Co./Bumper to 

Bumper Auto Parts Store 

Datamax Micro 

The Dave Grundfest Co. 

Susan Day & Skip Clemmons 

Maggie & Dick Dearnley 

Deltic Timber 

Dollar General Literacy Foundation 

Stephanie & Howard Duty 

Kelly & Brad Eichler 

Susan Elder 

JoEvelyn Elston 

Entergy Arkansas 

Eren Erdem 

Fast Enterprises 

Karen & John Flake 

Melanie & Jeff Fox 

Friday, Eldredge and Clark 

Charlotte & Jim Gadberry 

Gene and Jerry Jones Family Charity 

Giving Tree Fund 

Carolyn & Scott Gordon 

Ted Grace 

Deb & Mahdi Haddadi 

Carolyn & Dick Halsell 

Lynn Harbert 

Paul Hastings 

Collins Hemingway 

Cookie & Marc Higgins 

Hillcrest Harvest Fest 

Hudson Cisne & Co. LLP 

Lesli & John Hugg 

GOlD » 

Silver » 

Arkansas Business Publishing Group • Dover Dixon 

Horne, PLLC • GARVER • Glazer’s Distributors of Arkansas 

• QualChoice 

Arvest Bank • Ben E. Keith • Caterpillar, Inc. • Cumulus 

Media Little Rock – B98.5 • Delta Dental of Arkansas • 

Essick Air Products • The Hatcher Agency • Maverick 

Transportation • Pettus Office Products • Pleasant Ridge 

Town Center, LLC, a Schickle Development • Regions Bank 

• Snell Prosthetic & Orthotic Lab • TC Print Solutions • 

Thomas & Thomas LLP CPAs • Verizon Wireless 

Donald Jack 

James Avery 

Spencer Jansen 

Mitch Jansonius 

Jim Elder Good Sport Fund 

Johnson, Horn & Nye PLLC 

Raja & Rami Kassissieh 

Cecilia & Drew Kelso 

Kenneth Edwards Fine Jewelers 

Kutak Rock LLP 

Lisa & Andy LaGrone 

Pat & Cor Langewis 

Legacy Termite and Pest 

Control, Inc. 

Ed Lynch 

Marion and Miriam Rose Fund 

The Markham Group 

Susan & Ken Martin 

Tommy May 

Suzanne & Richard McCarthy 

Jessie & Robert McLarty 

Toby & Chad Murry 

Nathan Dalton Whetstone 

Charitable Trust 

Mary Lynn & Sheffield Nelson 

Becky & Blake Norris 

Outback Steakhouse 

Oxford Graphics, Inc. 

Patricia B. and Gus Blass Foundation 

Don Pfeifer 

Helen Porter & James Dyke 

Dawn Prasifka & Ken Harrison 

Thomas Rao 

Riggs Benevolent Trust 

Lisenne D. Rockefeller 

The Bob Ross Family 

Scarlet Boutique 

Rebecca & Robert Schulte 

Scott Deaton/Deaton Group 

Realty 

Second Presbyterian Church 

Dr. Zarina Shah 

Simmons First National Bank 

The Smith Holloway Patton 

Foundation 

Southern Bancorp Bank 

Doug Stadter 

Barbara & Kim Stafford 

Stanley Jewelers Gemologist 

Steuri Family Endowment 

Alese & Doug Stroud 

Mr. & Mrs. Matt Suffern 

Terminix International 

Elizabeth & Van Tilbury 

TOM FM 

U.S. Bank 

Marc Verbos 

Vestcom 

Viking Range Corporation 

Virginia & Ted Bailey Family Trust 

Weyerhaeuser Giving Fund 

Whole Foods Market 

Bob Williams 

Winspire, Inc. 

Joyce Wood 

Sherry & George Worthen 

Karen & Domenick Yezzi 

Aileen & Kevin Zaffaroni 

To support the programs offered by Centers for Youth and Families, please call The Centers’ Foundation Office. 

501.666.9436

Life Support 

The Federal Trade Commission 

has issued at least one subpoena 

involving an investigation 

into the planned purchase 

of Mercy Hot Springs by Capella 

Healthcare of Franklin, Tenn. 

We don’t have too many 

details involving what the FTC 

is looking for by questioning 

health care officials. 

But if the FTC is subpoenaing 

people, it usually means it is 

inclined to block a sale on antitrust 

grounds. Capella already 

owns another hospital in Hot 

Springs, National Park Medical 

Center. 

An FTC spokesman said he 

couldn’t comment on the nonpublic 

investigation. 

“At this time, we don’t have 

any new information to share,” 

a Mercy spokeswoman said in 

an email last week. “We look 


Business 

Whispers 

For daily news, register at ArkansasBusiness.com/Enews 

forward to providing an update 

once there is new information.” 

When the proposed sale was 

announced in April, outrage 

swept through Hot Springs. 

It caused Eric Jackson, the 

general manager of Oaklawn 

Park in Hot Springs, to resign 

from Mercy’s national board 

of directors. “I have a strong 

conviction” that a faith-based, 

not-for-profit hospital is the best 

hospital for Hot Springs, Jackson 

said at the time. 

Also, Bishop Anthony B. 

Taylor of the Catholic Diocese of 

Little Rock expressed uneasiness 

about the deal. 

Taylor said in a statement 

in April that he was concerned 

about the “negative impact this 

purchase could have on the 

medical care available to the 

poor and on the Hot Springs 

community in general.” 

Shoppes Site Sold 

Did you hear that a prominent 

North Little Rock congregation 

has expanded its holdings 

south of Interstate 40? 

First Pentecostal Church of 

Jesus Christ now owns about 

90 acres across from its 1401 

Calvary Road campus after four 

transactions. 

We understand the church 

intends to develop a school 

campus with a supporting 

sports complex on the property 

at the southwest corner of North 

Hills Boulevard and I-40. 

First Pentecostal operates 

Calvary Academy, which has a 

members-only enrollment of 

about 240 students in grades 

PK-12 at the church. 

The new development would 

include facilities for the church’s 

Truth College at The Rock, a theology 

school with an enrollment 

of about 80 students. 

We’re told the congregation 

may develop a new sanctuary 

complex as well to replace its 

current landlocked location. 

Two parcels in the assembly 

process involved a conventional 

exchange of land for money, 

more than $1 million all told. 

The sellers were HDJ Realty 

LLC, led by Hal Matthews, 

30 

N 

40 

$638,000 for about 15.5 acres 

at the southwest corner of I-40 

and North Hills, and General 

Properties Inc., led by James P. 

Matthews, $420,000 for about 10 

acres adjoining the HDJ parcel 

to the south. 

The other two deals involved 

donations from Clifton and 

Shirley Norman, about 37.5 

acres adjoining the General 

Properties land to the west, and 

Doda Construction, led by David 

Bruning and Doug Meyer, about 

Arkansas Business January 28, 2013 3 

First 

Pentecostal 

Church 

Frontage Road 

Land Acquired for 

Future Church 

Development 

East 19th Street 

Calvary Road 

40 

North Hills Boulevard 

27 acres adjoining the HDJ parcel 

to the west. 

The Normans bought their 

property, which includes Mulligan’s 

Golf Range, for $1.7 million 

in late December. The 

couple purchased it from Terraforma 

LLC, another Bruning- 

Meyer entity. 

This puzzle of contiguous 

property lies along the west 

side of North Hills Boulevard 

WHISPERS CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

4 January 28, 2013 Arkansas Business 

WHISPERS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3 

between the I-40 frontage Road on the 

north and East 19th Street on the south. 

This land assembled by the church 

was once envisioned for The Shoppes at 

North Hills, a proposed 866,000-SF, $130 

million retail center. 

The ill-fated project, advocated by 

Belz-Burrow Development Group of 

Jonesboro and Hocker & Associates Inc. 

of Owensboro, Ky., became mired in 

years of litigation-fueled controversy. 

Environmentalists battled the developers 

over wetland issues, and other 

opponents joined the fray in a separate 

dispute over the proposed tax increment 

financing sought to subsidize con- 

struction. On the drawing board since 

2003, the project was to be anchored 

by a 120,000-SF Bass Pro Shop. The outdoor 

sporting goods chain shifted its 

gaze southward last year, paying $3 million 

for a 29.3-acre site in Little Rock’s 

Gateway Town Center development. 

Mitigation of wetland loss and flood 

storage, highway access and road 

improvements and other issues will no 

doubt be revisited. 

Cantrell Conundrum 

Did you hear that the forthcoming 

construction on a short stretch of 

Cantrell Road in Little Rock is going to 

displace some businesses? 

In case you didn’t know, the state is 

widening Cantrell between Mississippi 

Street and Perryville Road, and that 

means some of the shops near the right 

of way will be affected. 

One is Terry’s Finer Wines at 6700 

Cantrell Road, which closed last week in 

preparation to move to its new location, a 

vacant building across the street at 7011 

Cantrell. 

Robert “Ro” Arrington, the shop’s 

manager, said it’s not really a problem for 

him. The 60-year-old liquor store will be 

able to keep its clientele — mostly from 

the Heights area, Arrington said — and 

the state is paying for the move. 

Arrington said the store is slated to 

reopen Feb. 1. 

At Stephens, we understand our continued success results from how clients are treated. With this 

in mind, our work is done in a manner that demonstrates trust and clear thinking. 

For 80 years, our firm has successfully managed tax‑exempt issues and financial advisory 

transactions for Arkansas borrowers. And while 2012 was another good year, we understand it was 

possible because of the trust and confidence shown by our fellow Arkansans. 

We are continually impressed with the talent and dedication of the men and women who manage 

Arkansas’ municipalities, hospitals, colleges and universities, school districts, state agencies, 

counties, utility systems and other governmental organizations. thank you, Arkansas, for your 

continued confidence in our capabilities. 

Little rock 800‑643‑9691 

Fayetteville 800‑205‑8613 

LIttLe rock, Ar • AtLAntA, GA • bAton rouGe, LA 

chArLotte, nc • DALLAS, tX • FAYettevILLe, Ar 

JAckSon, MS • nAShvILLe, tn 

StephenS Inc. • MeMber nYSe, SIpc 

WHISPERS 

expertise. confidence. commitment. 

Building blocks of Arkansas’ future. 

Standing from left: Jack truemper, 

Michele casavechia, Dennis hunt, 

kevin Faught, chris Angulo, 

Lindsey ollar and bobbie nichols 

Seated from left: Michael Mcbryde, 

carey Smith, Jason holsclaw 

and Mark Mcbryde (executive 

vice president and Director of 

public Finance) 

StephenSpubLIcFInAnce.coM 

On the other hand, Ken Rash’s 

of Arkansas, a furniture store at 7214 

Cantrell, isn’t having such an easy 

time. According to Brandon Hawkins, an 

employee, the business will have to move 

but hasn’t yet found a new space. 

Less certain is the future of the strip 

of shops at the corner of Cantrell and 

Keightley, where the state may be building 

a turn lane. An employee of Al’s 

Tobacco in that strip said he had heard 

some of the businesses may need to 

move, but was not aware of specifics. 

Others, like Damgoode Pies, will just 

lose parking. An assistant manager for 

the pizza restaurant said it may have to 

send out a parking attendant to direct 

traffic, but the building should be safe. 

The road work doesn’t start until later 

this year, but the state can’t start until the 

businesses are moved, Arrington said. 

Benton County Move 

Bliss is no longer found only in 

Washington County. 

Northwest Arkansas’ popular cupcake 

cafe is expanding its operation to 

include a Rogers location. Bliss Cupcake 

Cafe is slated to open in late February or 

March at 4204 W. Green Acres Road, near 

Promenade Boulevard. 

Flint and Rebekah Harris bought 

into the original Bliss in downtown 

Fayetteville in November 2011 and 

added a second Fayetteville location last 

year. Max and Kelly Moore recently joined 

them as business partners. 

Lessons Learned 

Angry customers flooded social 

media last week with complaints about 

AT&T’s handling of a widespread U-verse 

outage. 

A number of Facebook posters compared 

AT&T’s response with Entergy’s 

handling of the power outage after the 

Christmas ice storm and found the telecommunications 

giant lacking by comparison. 

Whispers asked Entergy Arkansas 

spokeswoman Julie Munsell what PR lessons 

the utility had learned. 

“This was the first major event where 

we [Entergy Arkansas] deployed social 

media,” she said. “From the very begin- 

ISSN: 1053-6582. USPS Number 730-650 

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Purchase Price Please 

$2 million. 

That’s the value attached to 

the sale of Wild River Country, the 

29-acre water park at 6820 Crystal 

Hill Road. 

The new owner is Aquapark 

Holdings LLC, led by Morton Fishman 

of Riviera Beach, Fla. 

Chris Shillcut of North Little 

Rock, a 22-year veteran of the water 

park/attraction industry, is returning 

home to oversee the project, 

including upgrades to the property. 

The sellers were Halcyon At- 

tractions Corp. of Toronto and 

Halcyon Attractions of Arkansas 

LLC, both led by Hugh Hall. n 

ning of the event, we said we were going 

to make a significant commitment to 

a 24/7 response during the outage on 

social media, which took a significant 

amount of resources and effort on the 

part of the company.” 

The second strategy Entergy used was 

“that we would respond with whatever 

information we had to as many questions 

as possible.” 

Using social media allowed Entergy 

to converse with customers — to “listen 

to them and be able to respond to them” 

— in real time, Munsell said. 

Requests for neighborhood-level 

information “prompted an expansion of 

our ‘view outages’ map,” she said. 

Munsell did note that Entergy wasn’t 

able to provide detailed information during 

the first couple of days after the storm 

because of the weather but did move in 

that direction as soon as it was able. 

“We think that telling people what 

you know when you know it seems to 

be very critical to how people felt about 

the restoration process and how it was 

going.” n 

Correction 

The Dec. 31 purchase of Westquip Inc. of 

Oklahoma City by Hugg & Hall Equipment 

Co. of Little Rock, a deal valued at $12.1 

million, was omitted from the Jan. 21 list 

of the biggest deals of 2012. It should 

have ranked No. 34 among the 40 deals 

for which price tags were available. A corrected 

list has been posted on Arkansas- 

Business.com. 


OUR NURSES ACCOMPLISHED 

WHAT NO ONE ELSE IN ARKANSAS 

AND FEW IN THE WORLD 

HAVE EVER ACHIEVED! 

To be the first and only hospital in Arkansas ever to receive Magnet® status 

from the American Nurses Credentialing Center is quite an honor. Worldwide, 

less than 5% of all hospitals have met the rigorous nursing criteria necessary to 

earn this prestigious designation. 

The Magnet Recognition Program® honors hospitals for excellence in patient 

outcomes, nursing practice, leadership and innovation. Everyone at St. Vincent 

Infirmary joins in expressing our pride in this remarkable achievement. 

This is a historic event for nursing and health care in Arkansas. St. Vincent 

nurses have clearly proven they are the leader and indisputably the best! 

Visit NurseCredentialing.org or StVincentHealth.com/Nurses 

to learn more. 

WHISPERS 

We thank all our nurses for the 

incredible effort required for 

ANCC Magnet Recognition.® 

The Magnet Recognition Program®, ANCC Magnet Recognition®, Magnet® names and logos are 

registered trademarks of the American Nurses Credentialing Center. All rights reserved. 

CATHOLIC HEALTH 

INITI AT IV ES 

St.Vincent 

Infirmary



Business 

Telecommunications 

For daily news, register at ArkansasBusiness.com/Enews 

AT&T to Pay $780 Million 

For Atlantic Tele-Network 

Atlantic Tele-Network Inc. of Beverly, 

Mass., a rural and niche telecommunications 

services provider, said Tuesday that 

it was selling its domestic retail wireless 

business, operated by subsidiary Allied 

Wireless Communications Corp. of Little 

Rock using the Alltel name, to AT&T of 

Dallas in an all-cash deal worth about 

$780 million. 

Allied Wireless was formed from 

divested Alltel assets after Alltel sold to 

Verizon for $28 billion in 2008. Allied 

has about 585,000 customers in rural 

areas of six states: Georgia, North 

Carolina, South Carolina, Illinois, Ohio 

and Idaho. Atlantic Tele-Network said 

Allied generated about $350 million in 

revenue in the first nine months of 2012. 

The deal, subject to regulatory 

approval, is expected to close in the second 

half of 2013. Stephens Inc. of Little 

Rock advised Atlantic Tele-Network on 

the sale. 

It was unclear from the announcement 

what the deal would mean for 

Allied Wireless’ Little Rock headquarters. 

Atlantic Tele-Network did not discuss 

Little Rock in a conference call 

Tuesday with investors, and local officials 

would not comment. 

In September 2009, Atlantic Tele- 

Network announced that Frank 

O’Mara would run the Alltel divestiture 

unit as CEO of Allied Wireless 

Weekly 

Report 

Communications. O’Mara, former 

executive vice president of marketing at 

Alltel, spent 13 years with the Little Rock 

telecom before it sold to Verizon. 

In December 2009, Allied 

announced it would invest $200 million 

to establish its headquarters in a 

building formerly occupied by Acxiom 

Corp. on Technology Drive in west Little 

Rock. The company said the operation 

would add between 200 and 250 jobs in 

central Arkansas. 

Allied received state incentives for the 

headquarters: $5 million from the governor’s 

quick action closing fund for retrofitting, 

equipment and training; sales tax 

returns on eligible building equipment 

and machinery; and a 5 percent cash 

rebate on new payroll for the next five 

years. As of late 2010, Allied Wireless 

leased 75,000 SF in the 100,000-SF building. 

After the sale of the Alltel business, 

Atlantic Tele-Network said, its businesses 

will consist of Commnet, serving 

rural communities primarily in the 

Southwest U.S.; Sovernet, serving residential 

and business customers in New 

England; ION, serving rural communities 

in New York State; GT&T, serving 

Guyana; CellOne, serving Bermuda; and 

Choice, Islandcom and Mio, serving portions 

of the Caribbean islands. 

— Lance Turner 

Business Calendar: The Week Ahead 

Tuesday 

January 29 

A+ Arkansas Education 

Reform Rally. 9 a.m. 

Arkansas State Capitol, 

Little Rock. Summit to follow 

at Doubletree Hotel. Visit 

APlusArkansas.org. 

Arkansas Hospitality 

Association Central 

Arkansas Chapter Awards 

Dinner. 6:30 p.m. Cajun’s 

Wharf, Little Rock. $45. (501) 

376-2323. 

Wednesday 

January 30 

Panel — The Farm Bill: 

What’s Next? 10 a.m.-noon. 

Conway County Fairgrounds, 

Morrilton. Free. (501) 671-2166. 

Disaster Preparedness & 

Response. 6 p.m. Clinton 

School of Public Service, Little 

Rock. Free. (501) 683-5239. 

Murphy Oil Corp. Fourth- 

Quarter 2012 Earnings. 

Released in afternoon. 

Thursday 

January 31 

Small-Business Panel: Get 

the Real Deal on Daily Deals. 

10 a.m.-noon. Community 

room, Fort Smith Public Library, 

3201 Rogers Ave. Free. (479) 

356-2067. 

Panel: Boosting Business 

With Great Customer 

Reviews. 1-3 p.m. Community 

room, Fort Smith Public Library. 

(479) 356-2067. 

Retail 

Wal-Mart Says 

It’s Tightening 

Measures on 

Subcontractors 

BENTONVILLE — Wal-Mart Stores Inc. 

has alerted its global suppliers that it will 

immediately drop them if they subcontract 

their work to factories that haven’t 

been authorized by the discounter. 

Wal-Mart’s stricter measure, along 

with other changes to its policy, comes 

amid increasing calls for better safety 

oversight after a deadly fire at a 

Bangladesh factory that 

supplied clothing to Wal- 

Mart and other retailers. 

The fire in late November 

killed 112 workers at a factory owned by 

Tazreen Fashions Ltd. Wal-Mart has said 

the factory wasn’t authorized to make its 

clothes. 

In a letter sent Tuesday to suppliers 

of its Wal-Mart stores as well as Sam’s 

Clubs in the U.S., Canada and the United 

Kingdom, the company says it will adopt 

a “zero tolerance” policy on subcontracting 

without the company’s knowledge, 

effective March. 1. Previously, suppliers 

had three chances to rectify mistakes. 

Wal-Mart also said it plans to publish 

Government 

Authorities say the vice chairman of 

the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission 

has been arrested on public intoxication 

and disorderly conduct charges. 

Lonoke County Sheriff John Staley 

said Wednesday that Rick Watkins was 

arrested Tuesday evening on the two 

misdemeanor charges and has since 

been released. Staley says Watkins, of 

Little Rock, was intoxicated and shooting 

a pistol in a rural part of the coun- 

on its corporate website a list of factories 

that haven’t been authorized to manufacture 

goods for Wal-Mart. 

Also, starting June 1, suppliers must 

have an employee stationed in countries 

where they subcontract to ensure compliance, 

rather than relying on thirdparty 

agents. 

“We want the right accountability and 

ownership to be in the hands of the suppliers,” 

Rajan Kamalanathan, Wal-Mart’s 

vice president of ethical sourcing, said in 

an interview with The Associated Press. 

“We are placing our orders in good faith.” 

Wal-Mart ranks second behind 

Swedish fast fashion retailer H&M in the 

number of clothing orders it places in 

Bangladesh. Before the fatal fire there, 

Wal-Mart had taken new steps to address 

the growing problem of 

safety, such as mandating 

fire safety training 

for all levels of factory 

management. Building fires have led 

to more than 600 garment work deaths 

in Bangladesh since 2005, according 

to research by the advocacy group 

International Labor Rights Forum. 

Kamalanathan said the company was 

looking to create a fund that factories can 

use to improve safety standards, but that 

is still in discussion. He also said local 

governments and other suppliers and 

retailers have to do their part in boosting 

work safety in factories. 

— The Associated Press 

AGFC Vice Chair Rick Watkins Arrested 

MORE ON THE WEB: 

For additional calendar items, or to submit 

items: ArkansasBusiness.com/calendar 

Friday 

February 1 

Arkansas Bar Association 

Webinar: Independent 

Contractor Agreements. 

Noon-1 p.m. $95-$125. Visit 

ArkBar.InReachCE.com. 

Webinar: FDCPA: An 

Overview of a Seemingly 

Simple Statute. Noon-1 

p.m. $95-$125. Visit ArkBar. 

InReachCE.com. 

ty. Staley says Watkins wasn’t shooting 

at anyone and was cooperative with 

authorities who were called to the scene. 

Commission spokesman Keith Stephens 

called the incident “a very serious matter” 

and said the agency was waiting 

to see how the situation unfolds before 

making any further statements. 

Watkins didn’t return a phone message 

left Wednesday. 

— The Associated Press 

Beebe Seeks Disaster 

Declaration for Storm 

Gov. Mike Beebe is asking President 

Barack Obama to declare a disaster for 

damage from a winter storm that struck 

on Christmas Day in central Arkansas. 

Beebe on Tuesday said seven Arkansas 

counties sustained an estimated $9 million 

in storm damage and that threefourths 

of that sum was incurred for 

storm debris removal. 

State and federal teams have been 

conducting damage assessment since 

the storm. 

The disaster declaration would enable 

state and local entities to recover some 

costs from the storm response. 

— The Associated Press

CENTRAL ARKANSAS 

Science Foundation Gives 

Hendrix $400,000 Grant 

The National Science 

Foundation this month 

awarded a $415,515 grant 

to Hendrix College in 

Conway for a project overseen 

by Andrea Duina, a 

biology professor at the 

college. 

The foundation, based 

in Arlington, Va., will 

fund the grant over three years. The 

grant is funding a research project on 

yeast cells. The research should provide 

a better understanding of the basic 

molecular processes that control how 

cells use genes to produce proteins, 

Duina said. Yeast cells are similar to 

human cells. 

“We are trying to understand how 

specific proteins are involved in this 

process,” Duina said. The new scientific 

research “can be used to understand cell 

NORTHWEST ARKANSAS 

Retail Space 

Vacancy Rate Falls 

The total vacancy rate for the 

central Arkansas commercial retail 

real estate market fell to 7.5 percent 

in the fourth quarter of 2012, 

compared with 7.7 percent during 

the third quarter and 8.6 percent 

Net Absorption (SF) 

biology in general, including 

human biology.” 

The first $157,723 of 

the grant is guaranteed 

to Duina’s project. The 

NSF will fund the rest of 

the grant, depending on 

the progress of the project 

and money availability. 

The funding will pay for, among 

other things, supplies and equipment, 

travel to scientific conferences, publishing 

and salaries for students’ summer 

lab work. 

Twelve undergraduate students will 

work on the project in Duina’s laboratory, 

and up to 50 others will conduct 

related experiments during one or two 

advanced cell biology courses taught by 

Duina. 

Duina previously received a total of 

during fourth-quarter 2011. 

“The year-end market trends 

report reflects five consecutive 

quarters of positive absorption, 

totaling over 220,000 SF of new 

retail occupancy,” said Jeff Yates 

of Irwin Partners. “This absorption 

coincides with reported lease rates 

rising 3 percent over the same 

period.” 

Historical Vacancy & Net Absorption 

Source: 

140,000 

120,000 

100,000 

9% 

80,000 

60,000 

40,000 

20,000 

8% 

0 7% 

2011 Q4 2012 Q1 2012 Q2 2012 Q3 2012 Q4 

THEY SAID IT 

Vacancy Rate (%) 

WEEKLY REPORT 

Andrea Duina, Hendrix College, associate professor 

of biology. [SUBMITTED PHOTO] 

$843,743 in NSF grant funding while at 

Hendrix. 

— Kate Knable 

ABF Global Adds South America to Coverage 

ABF Global Supply Chain 

Services has added South 

America to its coverage area. 

Argentina, Brazil, Chile, 

Columbia, Peru and Uruguay 

are now included in ABF 

Global’s transport portfolio. 

Services provided include 

single contact for full-container-load 

and expedited less-than-container-load. 

Source: Central Arkansas Commercial Data Exchange 

ABF, part of Arkansas 

Best Corp., which is 

headquartered in Fort 

Smith, has added South 

America to its international 

operation along 

with Europe and Asia. 

“With an established 

presence in Europe, 

China, India and Southeast Asia countries, 

South America is a natural exten- 

sion of our global coverage,” said Carlos 

Martinez-Tomatis, ABF GSCS division 

vice president. 

“ABF Global now covers nearly 90 percent 

of the total ocean international market 

to and from the United States. 

“Our goal is to reach 96 percent of 

the total import/export market, which 

we anticipate achieving before the end 

of 2013. ” 

— Chris Bahn 

“Some properties that were reporting 

significant vacancies at the beginning 

of 2012, such as The Promenade at 

Chenal and Shackleford Crossings, 

saw significant increases in occupancy 

during the year.” 

Vacancy Rate (%) 

— Jeff Yates, partner, Irwin Partners 

Vacancy Rate by Quarter 

10% 

8% 

6% 

8.6% 8.3% 7.9% 7.7% 7.5% 

2011 2012 2012 2012 2012 

Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 


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LEGISLATIVE ROUNDUP 

WEEKLY REPORT 

Legislature Enters Week 2 With Guns Blazing 

By Mark Carter 

MCarter@ABPG.com 

The 89th General Assembly entered 

week two with guns blazing. Well, with 

gun bills, anyway. 

Sen. Bryan King’s bill to allow concealed-carry 

permit holders to “carry” 

in churches that OK 

the practice advanced 

out of committee, as 

did a resolution urging 

the federal government 

not to mess 

with the Second 

Amendment. 

King, a Republican 

from Green Forest, 

Bryan King 

advanced his Senate Bill 71 out of the 

Senate Judiciary Committee, where it 

awaits a full Senate vote this week. 

The measure, which Gov. Mike 

Beebe indicated he’d sign, would take 

churches off the list of places where 

concealed handguns are prohibited. 

Churches would be given the choice to 

allow guns or not, and would determine 

who could carry them. 

An amendment requiring churches 

that allow guns to carry more insurance 

was defeated. 

Meanwhile, House Bill 1035 by 

Rep. Denny Altes, R-Fort Smith, would 

allow trained faculty and staff to carry 

on college campuses in the state. It 

awaits a vote in the House Education 

Committee. 

A non-binding resolution by Rep. 

Richard Womack, R-Arkadelphia, 

would urge the federal government 

not to infringe on Second Amendment 

rights. It unanimously passed out of the 

House State Agencies & Governmental 

Affairs Committee with a full House 

vote expected this week. 

If passed, the resolution would be 

distributed to President Barack Obama, 

congressional leaders and other state 

legislatures. Though his signature is 

not required, Beebe told The Associated 

Press last week that he supports the 

measure. 

Elsewhere, Sen. Joyce Elliott of Little 

Rock filed the Arkansas Interdistrict 

Public School Choice Act of 2013 (Senate 

Bill 114). The veteran Democratic lawmaker, 

who served three terms in the 

House and is in her third Senate term, 

Presented by 

wants to replace the state’s school 

choice law governing student transfers 

between districts. Her bill would 

allow transfers so long as a move didn’t 

impact desegregation. 

A bill filed in the session’s opening 

week could compete with Elliott’s measure 

for votes. Sen. Johnny Key’s Senate 

Bill 65 amends existing law to allow students 

one transfer per school year. The 

Mountain Home Republican could run 

the bill through the Senate Education 

Committee this week. 

Speaking of schools, Sen. David 

Burnett, D-Osceola, filed a bill last 

week that would create a capital grant 

program for open enrollment charter 

schools that would be administered by 

the state Department of Education. 

Democratic Rep. Butch Wilkins of 

Bono filed legislation last week severely 

limiting the circumstances under 

which Arkansas insurance companies 

could pay for abortions outside of a 

separate rider. Wilkins’ House Bill 1100 

would provide exceptions for rape, 

incest and the safety of the mother, 

something past legislation didn’t do. 

In 2011, a measure not including such 

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE 25TH ANNUAL 

ARKANSAS BUSINESS OF THE YEAR FINALISTS 

Business of the Year 

– Category I 

•American Data Network 

•Buffalo Outdoor Center 

•Community Bankers 

Merchant Services, Inc. 

•Haag Brown Commercial 

Real Estate and Development 

•PC Assistance 


– Category II 

•All-Clean USA 

•Kaufman Lumber Co. 

•PrivacyStar 

•US Compounding 

•Winter Moving & Storage, Inc. 


– Category III 

•Arkansas Surgical Hospital 

• Arnold & Blevins Electric Co. 

•Jan-Pro of Arkansas 

•Tankersley Food Service, Inc. 

•TME, Inc. 

Nonprofit Executive of the Year 

presented by AT&T 

•Matt Dozier, EAST Inc. 

•Brian Itzkowitz, Goodwill 

Industries of Arkansas 

exceptions passed in the Senate but 

failed to advance out of House committee. 

The bill likely will be heard in the 

House Public Health, Welfare & Labor 

Committee this week. 

Under Sen. Keith Ingram’s Senate 

Bill 108, filed last week and applying 

to state income tax, businesses could 

“extend the period for which a net operating 

loss could be carried forward 

to 10 years or until the loss has been 

exhausted or absorbed by the taxable 

income of a succeeding year, whichever 

is greater.” 

The West Memphis Democrat could 

run the bill through Senate Revenue & 

Tax this week. 

Also last week, the House approved 

a budget proposal that keeps salaries 

flat for the state’s elected officials in 

the executive, legislative and judicial 

branches. The measure leaves the door 

open for pay increases for state employees. 

Check out all of Arkansas 

Business’ legislative coverage at 

ArkansasBusiness.com/89th-General- 

Assembly. n 

•Christie Jordan, Food Bank 

of Northeast Arkansas 

•Christina Littlejohn, Arkansas 

Symphony Orchestra 

•Peggy McCall, Miracle League 

of Arkansas 

Nonprofit Organization of the Year 

presented by AT&T 

•Bethlehem House, Inc. 

•Cystic Fibrosis Foundation 

Arkansas Chapter 

•Economics Arkansas 

•Museum of Discovery 

•Our House 

Business Executive of the Year 

•Sam Alley, VCC 

•Don Cavenaugh, Cavenaugh 

Auto Group 

•Kevin Lamb, Advanced Tissue 

•Brett Overman, All-Clean USA 

•Jerry Spears, B&B Solutions 

ARCF Outstanding 

Philanthropic Awards 

• City Plumbing, Heating & 

Electric, Inc. 

• Medic One Ambulance 

• Lockheed Martin 

• Jonesboro City Water & Light 

special recognition

The last time Jan. 28 fell on 

a Monday, the chief financial 

officer of one of the state’s largest 

construction companies left 

home early in the morning and 

vanished. 

Five years later, the only 

person who has ever publicly 

claimed knowledge of John 

Glasgow’s fate is working as a 

prison barber and hoping for 

early release for two unrelated 

felonies. 

Glasgow, 45 at the time he 

went missing, was CFO of CDI 

Contractors LLC of Little Rock, 

which was then half-owned 

and is now wholly owned by 

Dillard’s Inc. He was legally 

declared dead almost two years 

ago, and his widow hopes to 

find out what happened to him 

but isn’t holding her breath. 

“I have just resigned myself 

that I may never know. I’ve 

turned it over to the universe 

and moved forward,” Melinda 

Glasgow said last week. 

She has thrown herself into 

her work for the city of Little 

Rock — first as recycling coordinator 

and then, after a promotion 

at the end of November, as 

sustainability officer — which 

feels like the work she was 

meant to do. 

She still lives in the house 

in the Hillcrest neighborhood 

that she shared with John, and 

she remains close to his seven 

siblings. 

As the initial shock of her 

husband’s disappearance wore 

off, Melinda Glasgow said she 

tried to make the kinds of decisions 

that John would have 

wanted her to make. 

“I didn’t want to make bad 

decisions because I was dealt 

this unbelievable blow,” she 

said. “He was smart and practical-minded. 

It would have been 

easy for me to spin out of control, 

so I’ve done a lot of ‘what 

would John do?’” 

About three and a half years 

after John vanished, in mid- 

2011, a twice-convicted felon 

named Jonathan Brawner told 

his lawyer and the Little Rock 

Police Department that he knew 

where Glasgow’s body was buried. 

He said he had been recruit- 

ed by “thugs from Malvern” to 

whom he owed money to help 

bury Glasgow in a bean field 

near England in Lonoke County. 

That development would not 

become public until January 

2012, when reporter Lauren 

Trager with KARK-TV, Channel 

4, broke the story. 

Trager’s scoop was immediately 

followed up by other 

new organizations, including 

Arkansas Business. That 

renewed attention to the case 

just before the fourth anniversary 

was hard, Melinda Glasgow 

said, “because of law enforcement 

being involved and more 

publicity” — but also because it 

came to naught. 

The bean field Brawner 

pinpointed as the burial site 

yielded no remains, despite 

time-consuming and expensive 

searches using sophisticated 

imaging equipment. And 

Melinda doesn’t know exactly 

what to think of Brawner’s tale, 

but she suspects there was some 

truth in it. 

“I’m not so sure he didn’t 


Glasgow’s Disappearance Still Unexplained 

By Gwen Moritz 

GMoritz@ABPG.com 

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GLASGOW CONTINUED ON PAGE 10 

Glasgow enjoyed travel, including family ski trips and visits to Scotland, 

Ireland and the Galapagos Islands. [PROVIDED PHOTO] 

Experience the commitment ®


GLASGOW CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9 

know something, but it was 

hard to sort fact from fiction 

with him,” she said. 

Brawner’s Status 

When Brawner first started 

talking about his knowledge of 

the Glasgow case, he had been 

paroled after 

serving 202 

days, most 

of it in prison 

boot camp, 

for his role in 

the attempted 

Jon 

Brawner 

kidnapping 

of a Conway 

County busi- 

nessman named Jim Daven on 

July 31, 2009. 

Brawner pleaded guilty to 

robbery and was sentenced to 

20 years with 10 years of it suspended. 

The Conway County 

Sheriff’s Department’s investigation 

concluded that he enlisted 

two co-workers from Cudd 

Energy Services in Conway 

to kidnap Daven, owner of a 

commodities brokerage where 

Brawner had worked, with 

the intention of forcing him 

to transfer millions of dollars 

GLASGOW 

John Glasgow’s family worked hard to find the missing CFO, including offering a reward. [PHOTO BY MICHAEL PIRNIQUE] 

from client accounts to offshore 

accounts set up by Brawner. 

One of Brawner’s henchmen, 

J.C. Chapman, was fatally 

shot by Daven’s stepson during 

the attempted kidnapping. The 

other, David Newkirk, is serving 

a 20-year sentence for attempted 

capital murder and attempted 

kidnapping and isn’t eligible 

for parole for seven more years. 

In October 2010, four months 

after being paroled, Brawner 

was arrested for stalking his exwife, 

who testified that he had 

told her about helping to bury 

a body. After being convicted, 

Brawner started trying to use 

his claimed knowledge of the 

Glasgow case to improve his 

situation. 

So far, it hasn’t worked. 

“He maintains even today 

that he has information” concerning 

the Glasgow case, 

Brawner’s attorney, Frank 

Shaw of Conway, told Arkansas 

Business last week. Brawner 

passed an Arkansas State Police 

polygraph exam concerning 

the location he identified, Shaw 

said, but after the archeological 

search of the about 2 acres 

of bean field came up empty, 

“some in law enforcement 

believe him and some are skeptical.” 

No immunity or plea bargains 

were offered to Brawner 

in connection with the Glasgow 

case, Shaw said, “and that 

stalled things.” 

Brawner was sentenced to 10 

years for the stalking conviction, 

which was a violation of 

his parole and the terms of his 

suspended sentence on the robbery 

conviction for the Daven 

kidnapping attempt. The stalking 

conviction is under appeal, 

but in December, Brawner was 

returned briefly to Conway 

County, where he came away 

with an additional sentence of 

96 months. 

“He’s serving his sentence 

and being very patient, but he 

wants out as soon as possible 

— like everyone else in prison,” 

said Shaw, who said anything 

else he knows about the 

Glasgow case is protected by 

attorney-client privilege. 

The Arkansas Department 

of Correction website shows 

Brawner’s parole eligibility date 

as March 20, but department 

spokeswoman Shea Wilson 

said a delay in getting paperwork 

on the additional sentence 

out of Conway County 

had kept the department from 

updating Brawner’s status. 

Exactly when he might be eligible 

for parole was uncertain, 

Wilson said. 

In the meantime, Brawner 

has had no disciplinary violations 

during his incarceration. 

His work assignment is as a barber 

for other inmates. n

Blytheville Hospital Closing 

A Section of Its Cancer Center 

The Great River Medical Center in 

Blytheville will stop offering radiation 

treatments in its cancer center by the end 

of January. 

Chemotherapy treatments still will 

be offered at the center by an oncologist, 

but not the radiation treatments, which 

were operated by Methodist Healthcare 

and the West Clinic in Memphis, said 

John Logan, chairman of the board of 

the Mississippi Hospital Association. 

Mississippi County owns the hospital 

building and leases the space. 

About six months ago, Methodist and 

the West Clinic announced that “they 

determined they didn’t want to continue 

the radiation part in Blytheville,” Logan 

said. Logan said he didn’t know why 

Methodist and the West Clinic wanted 

to stop the service. He referred questions 

to hospital administrator Ralph Beaty, 

who wasn’t immediately unavailable for 

comment. 

The hospital committee searched for 

another health care provider to take over 

the lease of the space, but couldn’t find one. 

Logan said that he didn’t know how 

many patients would be affected by 

the closure, but now they will have to 

drive about an hour away to Memphis or 

Jonesboro for treatment. 

Logan said the county might lease the 

space left vacant by Methodist and West 

Clinic to a doctor. 

— Mark Friedman 

HealthSouth, St. Bernards 

Partner on Rehab Services 

St. Bernards Healthcare of Jonesboro 

and HealthSouth Corp. of Birmingham, 

Ala., announced Wednesday that they 

have agreed to partner on inpatient rehabilitation 

services. 

The partnership will take place at 

the 67-bed HealthSouth Rehabilitation 

Hospital of Jonesboro, according to a 

joint news release. The cost of the partnership 

wasn’t disclosed, but it will be 

an equal partnership, Rebecca Rasberry, 

a spokeswoman for St. Bernards, said in 

an email to Arkansas Business. 

The transaction will need approval 

from state and federal regulatory agencies, 

but it is expected to close by the end 

of the quarter. 

“We believe that by combining the 

resources and efforts of both organizations, 

we will be able to offer exceptional 

rehabilitative services to patients within 

this region,” Chris B. Barber, president 

and CEO of St. Bernards Healthcare, said 

in the news release. 

Under health care reform, hospitals 

and doctors will have to demonstrate 

lower costs while providing high-quality 

care, which will be key metrics in governmental 

and commercial reimbursements. 

“Future health care models are going 

to require providers to work very closely 

together, providing seamless, coordinated 

transitions of care,” Rasberry said. “It 

just made sense for both organizations to 

partner in this venture.” 

— Mark Friedman 

White County Medical Center 

Sells River Oaks Village 

River Oaks Village, which had 

been owned and managed by White 

County Medical Center, was sold Dec. 

3 to Providence Assisted Living LLC of 

Clarksdale, Miss., administrator Lisa 

Jackson said last week. 

Providence already had four facilities 

in Mississippi and operates an inhome 

care division called Providence 

Companion Care. 

River Oaks is located near the WCMC 

Health Care Notes 

campus. It comprises 47 independent living 

and 40 assisted living apartments. The 

nonrefundable entrance fee is $500, and 

thereafter residents pay monthly rent. 

— Gwen Moritz 

Magnolia Medical Center 

Building Fitness Park 

Magnolia Regional Medical Center 

broke ground last week on a fitness park 

on the hospital’s property. 

According to CEO Margaret West, the 

hospital’s current location was originally 

the location of Magnolia’s city park. 

“There is a section of the park still left 

on our campus,” West said. “We’ve been 

SAVE 


talking for years about how nice it would 

be to have a walking park in there.” 

West said the hospital raised about 

$111,000 during the last year to go toward 

the park. 

The actual cost of the park will be 

closer to $60,000, West said, but the 

remainder of the money raised may go 

toward upgrades like lighting. 

West said the park will feature a quarter-mile 

track with intermittent “fitness 

stations” containing advice for workouts. 

The park is slated to be completed by 

spring. Terracon of Little Rock designed, 

it, and Perritt & Vickers Inc. of Magnolia 

is building it. 

— Luke Jones 

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UAMS: Looks 

to cut costs, 

raise revenue 

or both 

Continued From Page One 

A decrease in net state revenue. 

“The trends that we’re seeing 

are the increased costs associated 

with uninsured care,” 

Rahn said. “We’re going to have 

to seek new revenue streams, 

reduce expenses or both.” 

For the fiscal year that ended 

June 30, the UAMS campus 

reported an operating loss of 

$63.3 million and a net loss of 

$7.9 million, even after state 

appropriations, gifts and investment 

income. That compared 

with an operating loss of $29.4 

million and net income of $42.23 

million the previous year. 

Most of the loss in fiscal 2012, 

though, was tied to an accounting 

charge involving the booking 

of sick leave benefits to 

UAMS employees. 

“There were a number of 


The average number of visits per month to UAMS’ ER has jumped from 4,500 

in fiscal 2011 to more than 5,000 this fiscal year. [PHOTO BY MICHAEL PIRNIQUE] 

things that worked against us,” 

Rahn said of fiscal 2012. 

UAMS’ hospital alone reported 

a loss of $568,712 on total 

patient revenue of $1.4 billion. 

Through the first six months 

of the current fiscal year, 

UAMS’ hospital is “fundamentally 

breaking even,” Rahn 

said. He declined to say what 

the numbers were because he 

hasn’t yet presented them to the 

University of Arkansas Board of 

Trustees. 

“But breaking even is not 

good enough,” he said. “We’re 

kind of operating on the edge.” 

He said UAMS needs prof- 

2013 Arkansas Business Hall of Fame 

its from the hospital to support 

its mission of improving health 

and health care in the state. 

Rahn is banking on a number 

of cost-saving moves and 

increases in revenue that will 

help the UAMS campus, including 

forming a partnership with 

St. Vincent Health System that 

could save both systems money. 

Under national health care 

reform, hospitals and doctors 

will have to demonstrate lower 

costs while providing highquality 

care, which will be key 

metrics in governmental and 

commercial reimbursements. 

“We’re really beginning the 

process here that’s the first 

real fundamental redesign of 

health care since Medicare and 

Medicaid came into existence 

46 years ago,” Rahn said. 

Health Care Reform 

One of the top issues Rahn is 

supporting is the expansion of 

Medicaid for the working poor, 

which will add about 250,000 

Arkansans to the joint federalstate 

program. 

Approving the expansion 

will require a 75 percent supermajority 

vote in both the 

Arkansas House and Senate. 

“We’ve got to get everybody 

into the [insurance] system,” 

Rahn said. “We have an unsustainable 

volume of uninsured 

care.” 

House Public Health Committee 

Chairman Rep. John 

Burris, R-Harrison, told Ar- 

kansas Business last week many 

unanswered questions remain 

surrounding Medicaid expansion, 

including what kind of 

latitude the state will have in 

implementing the expansion. 

“Right now it doesn’t look 

like we’ve got a lot of flexibility, 

and I think that makes the decision 

more difficult,” Burris said. 

In 2009, we had to make a decision. Our IT 

needs were being evaluated and we wanted to 

explore our options. We were recommended to 

PC Assistance and were told they were able to 

provide the level of services that we needed at a 

cost that didn’t break our budget. We were told 

by others that PC Assistance was priced too low 

to handle our needs – the others were clearly 

wrong! With a large number of servers and 

desktops, as well as numerous departments 

within our city, we anticipated a significant 

expense but have found that PC Assistance has 

been able to provide us with a level of service 

higher than anticipated at a fraction of our 

expected cost. 

It is clear that we have made the right decision. 

A vote might come in February, 

he said. Failure to approve 

the expansion, whose 

cost will be covered by the federal 

government for three years 

starting in 2014, would be a 

financial blow to UAMS Medical 

Center and other hospitals 

around the state, hospital officials 

have said. 

In fiscal 2012, charity care 

and bad debt for the entire 

UAMS campus rose 15.2 percent 

to $202.1 million. 

The percentage of UAMS 

patients who don’t have insurance 

is about 12 percent. 

Meanwhile, UAMS is seeing 

more patients in its emergency 

room. The average number of 

visits per month has jumped 

from 4,500 in fiscal 2011 to 4,750 

in fiscal 2012 to more than 5,000 

in the first half of fiscal 2013, 

Rahn said. 

“It’s critically important to 

the future of the health system 

and the health of the population” 

that Medicaid be expanded, 

Rahn said. 

It is unclear what impact 

health care reform, which will 

require people to have health 

insurance by Jan. 1 or face a 

penalty, will have on UAMS. 

Rahn said he doesn’t know 

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how many of the estimated 500,000 

uninsured Arkansans will be covered 

come Jan. 1. Even if with insurance, it’s 

unknown if they will seek treatment at 

UAMS or go somewhere else for care, he 

said. 

One way UAMS is looking to cut 

expenses is by partnering. 

UAMS and St. Vincent announced in 

August that they had started talks to see 

if there was a way the state-owned UAMS 

Medical Center could work with Catholic 

Health Initiatives’ St. Vincent to improve 

health care while reducing costs. 

They hired consultants from Deloitte 

LLP of New York at a cost of at least $1 

million to examine areas where the two 

could partner. 

Peter Banko, the CEO of St. Vincent, 

told Arkansas Business recently that 

Deloitte’s study should be finished by 

the middle of February. 

Meanwhile, doctors from both hospitals 

are meeting to discuss areas where 

a partnership might be formed, Banko 

said. The hospitals agreed to an April 1 

deadline to decide if they want to move 

forward with partnership talks, he said. 

Financial Incentives 

Starting in October, health care providers 

could start seeing a financial 

reward for keeping a lid on health care 

costs. 

Under the Arkansas Payment Im- 

provement Initiative, health care providers 

who come in below the target price 

set by Medicaid and other payers for 

some episodes of care will get to share in 

the savings, said Rhonda Hill, director 

of health care finance at the Arkansas 

Center for Health Improvement. 

The APII will look at the average price 

of care over a 12-month period to determine 

if the provider hit the goal. A provider 

that doesn’t could be on the hook 

for the difference, Hill said. 

For UAMS, however, hitting the targets 

could be a challenge, Rahn said. 

Not only does UAMS have a comprehensive, 

acute-care hospital, but it also 

teaches medical students, making the 

cost of care higher, Rahn said. 

“We just need to work through how 

we deal with that,” he said, adding that 

nothing has been settled. 

The Arkansas Department of Human 

Services still is developing its appeals 

process involving episodes of care, 

spokeswoman Amy Webb said. 

On the national scene, many UAMS 

revenue streams are at risk, according to 

its fiscal 2012 audit. 

One of the biggest potential blows to 

UAMS is the funding it receives from the 

National Institute of Health of Bethesda, 

Md., which accounted for $75 million in 

the fiscal year that ended June 30. 

“It could mean a loss of a percentage 

of that” as a result of the uncertainty surrounding 

the budget in Congress, Rahn 

said. 

The “sequester” cuts required by the 

Budget Control Act of 2011 were projected 

to cost UAMS $12 million a year, 

but the “fiscal cliff” deal in Congress left 

those reductions up in the air. 

Rahn said he isn’t sure what will happen 

to the NIH budget or the federal 

Medicare health insurance program for 

people 65 and older. But he doesn’t think 

the dollars will be going up. 

“We expect once a budget compromise 

is reached, it will involve reductions 

in spending,” Rahn said. 

State money, accounting for 9 percent 

of UAMS’ budget, also 

isn’t going as far. State 

funds increased slightly 

to $114.8 million in fiscal 

2012, but UAMS had 

to pay more out of that 

money for Medicaid 

Dan 

Rahn 

match payments. The 

amount paid for Medicaid 

match increased 

from $57.4 million in fiscal 2010 to $72.1 

million in fiscal 2012. 

“A portion of our [state] funds gets 

used for matching of federal dollars for 

uninsured in what is called disproportionate 

share payments,” Rahn said. 

Under the disproportionate share 

funding formula, Arkansas’ median 

household income is compared with 

the national median. Since the state 

has made progress toward reaching the 

national average, UAMS’ match climbed 

from 25 percent to 30 percent, Rahn said. 

“So as long as we maintain positive 

income growth in the state relative to 

the nation, we’re going to continue to 

see decrease in the federal match,” Rahn 

said. 

While economic development in the 

state is desirable, Rahn said, it takes a 

bite out of the campus’ revenue. 

“It’s just one more thing that we’re 

having to deal with,” he said. 

To offset the funding cuts, UAMS is 

looking for more sources of revenue. 

One is in cancer treatment. In June, 

it completed its $9.5 million purchase 

of nearly all assets that the Central 

Arkansas Radiation Therapy Institute 

used on UAMS’ campus. UAMS also 

terminated CARTI’s lease agreement on 

the campus. In July, UAMS opened the 

UAMS Radiation Oncology Center, and 

that’s expected to generate $10 million 

in net patient service revenue in the current 

fiscal year. 

Setting up its treatment center required 

UAMS to buy two main pieces of 

equipment for $7 million, but the center 

should be profitable in the current fiscal 

year, he said. 

Another revenue source will come 

from dental services. At the end of the 

month, UAMS will open the UAMS Oral 

Health Clinic. The center is working 

toward accreditation for postgraduate 

residency programs in advanced general 

dentistry and oral surgery. 

The program seeks to have students 

in dental schools outside of Arkansas 

provide care in the clinic by next year. 

A full dental school at UAMS still is 

about eight to 10 years away, Rahn said. 

That is, of course, if the money is 

available for the project, he said. n 

UAMS 


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Congress delayed automatic spending 

cuts that included pushing back a 

2 percent Medicare payment reduction 

until March 1. 

That move to avoid the “fiscal cliff” 

postponed across-the-board budget cuts 

demanded under the sequestration component 

of the 2011 Budget Control Act, 

and it gave another temporary reprieve 

to doctors. 

But it has done little to ease the uncer- 


Medicare Cut Threatens to Cost Hospitals $407M 

By George Waldon 

George@ABPG.com 

Paul 

Cunningham 

tainty of how much 

financial pain health 

care providers, particularly 

hospitals, will have 

to endure in the budget 

process. Arkansas 

hospitals were bracing 

for $42.6 million in lost 

revenue during 2013 

alone from the 2 per- 

cent Medicare cut. Over 10 years, lost 

revenue from the deficit-reducing gambit 

was projected to top $407 million for 

the state’s roster of hospitals. 

“Aggregately, Arkansas hospitals 

stand to lose $2 billion over a 10-year 

period in Medicare cuts, and that applies 

pretty much to hospitals across the 

board,” said Paul Cunningham, executive 

vice president of the Arkansas 

Hospital Association. “For Arkansas, that 

is a lot, and it will try many hospitals.” 

More than a third of the hospitals in 

the state already were running in the 

red, according to an annual checkup by 

Arkansas Business in October. Of the 91 

hospitals in Arkansas, 33 reported losses 

in their most recent annual reports. 

Skilled Nursing Facilities 

provide quality care, jobs and 

economic impact for Arkansas 

arhealthcare.com 

While politicians wrangle over health 

care reimbursements, hospital administrators 

are forced to move forward with 

budgets bolstered by contingency plans 

aplenty. 

Larry Morse, CEO at Johnson County 

Regional Medical Center 

in Clarksville, headed 

into 2013 with a fiscal 

battle plan prepared for 

the worst scenarios and 

hoping for the best. 

“We had put in place 

a plan to reduce our 

expenses by approximately 

$500,000,” said 

Morse. “That plan in- 

Larry 

Morse 

cluded a reduction in matches to retirement 

plans and adjustments to a litany 

of items we pay for.” 

Examples of the cost-cutting laundry 

list included lowering premiums paid 

for weekend work by staff, adjusting the 

physician staff call coverage, reducing 

managerial salaries, reducing payments 

for subsidized services and cutting anesthesia 

services costs. 

“As of today, it looks like we won’t have 

to implement all of those cuts, but we’re 

still cautious,” Morse said. “Our goal 

was, No. 1, to affect the fewest number of 

people, which was a challenge. 

“Aggregately, Arkansas 

hospitals stand to lose 

$2 billion over a 10-year 

period in Medicare cuts, 

and that applies pretty 

much to hospitals 

across the board. For 

Arkansas, that is a lot, 

and it will try many 

hospitals.” 

[PAUL CUNNINGHAM, EXECU- 

TIVE VICE PRESIDENT OF 

THE ARKANSAS HOSPITAL 

ASSOCIATION] 

“We have placed a priority on keeping 

staff employed and second, not to 

cause financial harm to our lowest-paid 

employees. About 28 percent of our staff 

is paid under $9 an hour. 

“At some point, if we continue to get 

cuts, we’re going to have to look at other 

issues.” 

Johnson County Regional Medical 

Center is among four Arkansas hospitals 

that received a budgetary reprieve 

thanks to an 11th-hour deal to extend the 

Medicare Dependent Hospital Program. 

Congress allowed MDH to expire 

on Sept. 30, but then the program was 

revived with funding of $100 million as

part of the year-end fiscal cliff avoidance 

package. 

“We were certainly facing a challenge 

up until that,” Morse said. “We were 

looking at a reimbursement loss of about 

$750,000, which represented our profit 

for all of 2012. That would’ve moved us 

into the red.” 

Launched in 1990, MDH was established 

to aid small rural hospitals. In 

Arkansas, Baptist Health Medical Center 

in Stuttgart, Hot Spring County Medical 

Center in Malvern and NEA Baptist 

Memorial Hospital in Jonesboro also 

participate in the program. 

The one-year extension of MDH 

put $461,000 back in the 2013 budget 

for Johnson County Regional Medical 

Center. 

Morse estimates the looming Medicaid 

cut will hit hospital revenue somewhere 

under $200,000 year. 

“For our hospital, it’s a significant 

amount of money, but we thought we 

Impact of Medicare Payment Reductions 

Facing Arkansas Hospitals as a Result 

of the Affordable Care Act and Other Congressional Action 

Estimated Medicare fee-for-service payment reductions to hospitals and post-acute 

care providers based on recent payment changes authorized by Congress and regulatory 

payment changes adopted (2013-2022) 

Medicare Payment Rate Reductions 10-Year Impact 2013 

Inpatient (operating and capital) ($925,146,700) ($28,301,600) 

Outpatient ($293,702,300) ($3,577,000) 

Inpatient rehabilitation facility ($97,265,000) ($1,185,200) 

(hospital-based and free-standing) 

Inpatient psychiatric facility ($40,610,300) ($511,600) 

(hospital-based and free-standing) 

Skilled nursing facility/swing bed (hospital-based) ($5,180,000) ($80,600) 

Home health agency (hospital-based) ($80,083,400) ($1,157,600) 

Long-term care hospital (free-standing) ($29,598,800) ($366,700) 

Quality-Based Payment Changes ($180,474,600) ($7,577,400) 

DSH Payment Reductions 

Medicare DSH - inpatient ($385,131,100) 

Medicaid DSH - inpatient 

ACA Total negative impact ($2,037,192,200) ($38,512,300) 

BCA 2 percent sequester ($407,258,700) ($42,677,800) 

Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act 

Bad Debt Payment Cuts ($17,354,600) ($1,017,800) 

Total ($2,461,805,500) ($82,207,900) 

This analysis shows the negative impact to Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) payments taking 

into consideration the various and significant payment policy changes authorized by 

the Affordable Care Act (ACA) of 2010, the effect of the 2.0% across-the-board reduction 

to payments authorized by the Budget Control Act (BCA) of 2011 (sequestration), and the 

reduction in bad debt payments authorized by the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation 

Act of 2012. The analysis also accounts for the known regulatory payment changes adopted 

by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for payment years 2013 and 

beyond. This analysis does not capture ACA update factor cuts or regulatory coding adjustment 

cuts implemented prior to 2013 that carry forward additional negative impacts in the 

budget window analyzed. 

Source: Arkansas Hospital Association. 

could handle the additional 2 percent 

Medicare cut,” he said. 

“What we weren’t prepared for was 

the major changes in payment rates for 

insured patients. That’s projected to 

reduce revenue by $350,000.” 

While hospital revenue is getting 

squeezed from a number of directions, 

physicians gained another year of special 

dispensation from substantial cuts 

in Medicare reimbursement. 

On paper, the accumulative 

cut amounted 

to somewhere around 

29 percent, according to 

David Wroten, execu- 

David 

Wroten 

tive vice president of the 

Arkansas Medical Society. 

“As part of the bill 

that was passed to avoid 

the fiscal cliff, Congress put off physician 

fee cuts for another year,” Wroten said. 

“It’s status quo for 2013.” n 

FISCAL CLIFF 

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understanding the changes going on in the 

health care industry, and how it impacts our 

clients’ businesses in the coming years. 


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Mental Health: 

Cost is a problem 

when treating 

mental illness 

Continued From Page One 

Out of the 20-25 patients who come in 

daily to be assessed for treatment at The 

BridgeWay, two or three fit that chronic, 

severe category, he said. 

“Many of those patients are not paid 

for and they have many needs. … They 

require a lot of our medical care, a lot 

of our special care,” he said. “At a small 

hospital such as ours, it does put a burden 

on our resources.” 

The BridgeWay can stabilize a patient 

in an emergency, but the chronically 

mentally ill typically need much more 

care than that. More than half of the people 

The BridgeWay treats for mental illness 

also struggle with substance abuse, 

so people often leave the hospital’s acute 

care only to return to unhealthy lifestyle 

patterns outside the hospital’s walls, 

Pipkin said. 

Other long-term needs, such as for 

help finding work or housing, play into 

the problem, he said. 


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“Sometimes you see a cycle of patients who, if we did have resources for them, they could avoid hospitalization and could function better,” said 

Barry Pipkin, CEO of The BridgeWay. [PHOTO BY MICHAEL PIRNIQUE] 

“Those patients are the neediest 

patients, and they’re long-term care 

patients. Sometimes those patients, 

in addition to their mental illness and 

addictive disease, have developmental 

issues. … They’re a very complicated 

patient who requires a lot of care,” Pipkin 

said. “There’s outpatient services out 

there, but these folks need more than 

that. If you don’t have a job, who’s going 

to feed you? Who’s going to shelter you? 

Those go beyond outpatient needs.” 

A homeless shelter isn’t equipped to 

deal with severe mental and physical 

We make a difference by 

“expanding to meet the 

needs of the community.” 

Since Conway Regional was founded in 1938, our 

county’s population has more than quadrupled. To meet 

this growing demand and build a foundation for future 

growth, we have completed a $32 million addition. It 

includes eight larger, up-to-date obstetrics rooms and a 

new surgery department with eight operating rooms and 

pre- and post-op areas. We’re committed to meeting the 

demands of our growing community and the healthcare 

needs of those we serve. 

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health issues, Pipkin said. 

CEO Tom Petrizzo of Ozark Guidance 

in Springdale said his organization seeks 

out grants and other ways to subsidize 

the care the organization provides at no 

cost to the uninsured. Ozark Guidance 

is among the state’s 13 state-contracted 

Making better healthcare a reality.

community mental health centers. 

Because Ozark Guidance receives 

about $2.7 million per year in state and 

federal funding, the organization is 

required to treat people with mental illness 

regardless of their ability to pay. 

But that uncompensated care cost 

the nonprofit about $4 million in 2012, 

Petrizzo said. Ozark Guidance is primarily 

an outpatient behavioral health 

center, but it does offer some residential 

treatment. 

Last year, almost 5,200 of Ozark’s 

11,000 patients were on Medicaid, 

Petrizzo said. 

About 1,700 more would be eligible 

for Medicaid coverage under the proposed 

Medicaid expansion to people 

with incomes of up to 138 percent of the 

federal poverty line. 

“The main thing that would be helpful 

to us … would be the Medicaid extension, 

where states have the ability to 

increase the income eligibility level,” 

Petrizzo said. 

“It would reduce our uncompensated 

care burden, we figure, by 20-25 percent. 

… There’s a certain limit to how much 

you can do with uncompensated care. If 

a person has Medicaid, it’s easier to provide 

care because it’s a payment source.” 

More Problems 

Treating people who are chronically 

mentally ill and don’t have insurance 

comes with an array of problems, said 

Tom Grunden, executive director of the 

Little Rock Community Mental Health 

Center. 

For one, emergency room and inpatient 

treatment are expensive, Grunden 

said. 

Further, such services pull people 

out of their support systems of family 

and friends and don’t build sustainable, 

ongoing treatment outside of a facility, 

he said. 

“Mental illness is recurring,” but 

patients come, receive intervention, 

then disappear, even though preventive 

care is cheaper,” Grunden said. “Thus, 

Mental Health Checklist 

MENTAL HEALTH 

[providers] don’t know when symptoms 

recur.” 

Grunden, along with executive directors 

of other Arkansas community mental 

health centers, serves on the board of 

the nonprofit Mental Health Council of 

Arkansas. 

The Mental Health Council of 

Arkansas is pushing for a different model. 

They adovcate one that would keep 

clients more consistently out of inpatient 

treatment and, with the help of case 

managers, help them learn to manage 

their own mental health care consistently 

over time. 

Then, “as people grow stable, the 

Symptoms that someone needs to be evaluated for mental health treatment, as 

explained by Lee Christenson, CEO of Springwoods Behavioral Health in Fayetteville: 

w Depression is interfering with the person’s quality of life, relationships and work; 

w A psychotic break is impairing someone’s good judgment in caring for himself; 

w He is abusing alcohol or drugs; and/or 

w He is suicidal or talking of harming others. 

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... from the CEO Lee Christenson: 

“We live in a stressful world. People have a lot of stresses and strains in 

their life. I think the pivot point of when people really need care is when 

depression persists over a period of time. There is help and there is hope 

and people can recover.” 

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focus is on prevention, not acute treatment,” 

Grunden said. 

Money Means Options 

Due to state and federal mental health 

parity laws, people who are insured typically 

don’t have trouble finding treatment, 

providers said. 

“I think the issue is: Do you have 

insurance?” Grunden said. “If not, you 

have a hill to climb.” 

Petrizzo echoed that idea. 

Community mental health providers 

tend to struggle to find psychiatrists to 

hire because there’s more money to be 

made in private practice, Petrizzo said. 

Not enough psychiatrists means longer 

waits for outpatient treatment, he 

said. “There’s a shortage there to be able 

to serve those folks,” he said. 

Medical schools aren’t producing 

enough psychiatrists to meet demand, 

Petrizzo said, and most psychiatrists 

aren’t interested in working for community 

health providers. 

Therefore, the sector where there are 

more doctors, and where mainly paying 

clients are served, is private practice. 

Private practitioners can limit the charity 

care they offer. 

So, what’s it like if you have money, 

insurance or both? 

“You’ve got lots of choices,” Petrizzo 

said. “There’s all kinds of private practitioners.” 

n 

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Imagine Imagine... 

Imagine Imagine... ... 

... 

…a health care 

system where 

patients 

get the right 

care at the right 

time, every time. Where 

providers have the tools 

and resources to deliver that 

care. And patients and their 

families understand their role in 

maintaining their own health. 

Imagination is the first stop on 

the road to change — the kind of 

change that goes beyond data 

collection and medical review. It’s 

more than quality improvement. 

It begins in the heart of each health 

care facility — the culture of the care 

environment and the dedication of each 

staff member, from clinical to clerical. 

The Arkansas Foundation for Medical 

Care is working with health care 

providers across the state to make the 

most of the talent, commitment and 

compassion our state has to offer. Please 

share the vision of what health care in 

Arkansas can be. Together, we’ll get there. 


Tools and strategies for quality improvement… 

We don’t provide health care. We help make it better. 

Northwest Medical Center-Springdale is undergoing a $12 million renovation that will give the 

landmark facility a like-new sheen. 

Springdale Hospital Hopes 

$12M Facelift Boosts Brand 

By Chris Bahn 

CBahn@ABPG.com 

Springdale is not getting a new hospital, 

but it is getting a hospital that will 

look new. 

Northwest Health System’s Springdale 

facility will remain at the same location 

at the southeast corner of Thompson 

Avenue and Maple Street it has occupied 

for six decades. 

The hospital is getting a facelift that 

administrators hope will improve perception 

with some local residents. 

Portions of a $12 million renovation 

and expansion, like additional parking, 

improved waiting room and lobby areas, 

are already complete. All phases of the 

project, which adds 30,000 SF and close 

to doubles available exam rooms, will be 

finished by June. 

Chief Operating Officer Michael 

Stewart sees the improvements as an 

opportunity to advance the hospital’s 

brand in northwest Arkansas. 

Think of it as improved curb appeal 

for the hospital. 

“I’ve had business leaders tell me they 

heard we’re getting a new hospital in 

Springdale,” Stewart said. “No, there’s 

been a hospital in Springdale for 60 

years, but this increases our visibility 

and awareness in the community.” 

Increased visibility and awareness 

are important with so many health care 

options in the area. Northwest Health is 

one of three medical systems in north- 

west Arkansas, and Stewart points 

out there are four other hospitals in 

Washington and Benton counties. 

Choices are plentiful, but in the future 

Stewart wants to be the first choice for 

locals. 

Making Northwest Health System’s 

Springdale hospital a preferred choice 

to the city’s 70,000 residents and then in 

the surrounding area is among the primary 

goals Stewart set when he took over 

as COO a year ago. Stewart estimates 

— “back of the napkin figures,” he calls 

them — that the hospital currently has a 

50 percent market share, but he’d like to 

see that grow to 85 percent. 

While he admits that is a big goal, 

Stewart said it gives the staff of 900-plus 

employees something to work toward 

each day. 

Using a sports analogy to describe 

his approach to managing the hospital, 

Stewart likens himself to a new coach 

taking over a football program with 

three wins and 10 losses on a 13-game 

schedule. 

He calls 2012 a seven-win, six-loss 

season and says he hopes to take another 

leap — in services offered, quality of service 

and market share — this year. 

“We are still the dominant market 

share for Springdale, but we have significant 

opportunities left,” Stewart said. “I 

think there’s plenty of business for everybody 

to have their fair share.” 

Springdale’s hospital has a rich history 

in the area, employees there note. It 

was the site of the area’s first open heart 

surgery. It was the only local hospital 

to provide 3D mammography. Other 

facilities in the area followed Springdale 

when it came to chest pain accreditation. 

Among what Stewart calls the distinctive 

product lines offered at the hospital 

are psychiatric and geriatric care. The 

hospital is looking to expand its pediatrics. 

Stewart has added 15 doctors to 

the staff since he began overseeing the 

hospital last year. 

Local awareness of those services 

should increase through the improvements 

being made. 

While the hospital has had three significant 

renovation projects since 2006, 

this could be the most meaningful from 

a perception standpoint, Stewart said. 

“Sometimes people equate quality of 

care with the façade,” Stewart said. “We 

feel like we do a decent job of taking 

care of the patients and by having a new 

façade, people will give us the benefit of 

the doubt on that.” n

Omar Carrillo has seen the 

work EMS crews do through his 

job as a firefighter in Rogers. 

He understands the demands 

placed on first responders and 

knows nothing can replace onthe-job-training 

when dealing 

with emergencies. 

Nor t hwest A rkansas 

Community College is getting 

closer to replicating the experience, 

however. Among the 

features of the Bentonville college’s 

new $14.2 million Center 

for Health Professions building 

is lab space set up to simulate 

being in the back of an ambulance. 

It’s valuable experience 

for students like Carrillo. 

“It’s not completely realistic, 

but this is one step closer right 

here. The closer you can get to 

realistic training, the better off 

you are,” said the 24-year-old 

Carrillo, who is seeking certification 

through the paramedic 

program at NWACC. “It’s pretty 

impressive.” 

NWACC officials think there 

is much to like about the 83,000- 

SF center, which opened this 

semester. Not only is there 

an ambulance simulator, the 

three-story facility is home to 

11 labs, including an emergency 

room and intensive care unit. 

Washington Regional 

Medical Center of Fayetteville 

donated $250,000 to help with 

the cost of a nursing simulation 

lab. Nursing students can practice 

on mannequins that offer 

100 different scenarios they 

might face when treating a real 

patient. 

Steve Percival, vice president 

of human resources at 

Washington Regional, said 

NWACC has produced quality 

health care workers but should 

improve training due to the new 

center. He likened the lab experience 

to future pilots learning 

from a flight simulator. 

“The more realistic you can 

make the learning experience, 

the less of the knowledge gap 

you’ll have when it comes to 

walking into a patient room,” 

Percival said. “You don’t learn 

how to fly from a book. Who 

would fly with a pilot whose 

only experience is reading? This 

really is no different.” 

Training for students in 

nursing, respiratory therapy, 

physical therapist assistant, 

paramedic, emergency medical 

technician, fire science, certified 

nurse assistant and patient 

care assistant programs is much 

more realistic. And students are 

able to work in a collaborative 

work environment. 

For example, first responders 

in training can work with 

paramedic and EMT students, 

like Carrillo, on how they might 

handle a simulated crash. 

They’ll then practice how they 

would handle the transfer of a 

patient to the hospital where 

nursing students are on hand to 

care for the victim. 

“It will better prepare our 

students for the world they’ll 

see when they leave Northwest 

Arkansas Community College,” 

Mary Ross, dean of health 

professions at NWACC, said. 

“They’ll know what it’s like to 

work as part of a team. There are 

a multitude of situations we can 

put our students in through the 

simulations. We can make sure 

the first encounter they have 

with an ICU setting or the scene 

of an accident is not with a real 

patient.” 

Another benefit of the new 

center is it offers the ability 

to grow health professions at 

NWACC. When construction 

began two years ago 1,100 students 

were enrolled in courses 

related to health care. Today 

that number has grown to 

1,600. 

Crafton Tull of Oklahoma 

City designed the building and 

Nabholz Construction Services 

of Conway built it. An unfinished 

part of the building leaves 

room to grow, Ross said. The 

school is evaluating new programs 

and courses to offer as 

it works toward 2,000 students, 

he said. 

Ross said NWACC’s physical 

therapy assistant program has 

for the last 13 years produced a 

100 percent pass rate for students 

seeking certification in that area. 

Now the center provides room to 

expand that program beyond the 

14 students currently enrolled. 


New $14.2M Center Trains Health Pros 

By Chris Bahn 

CBahn@ABPG.com 


Students at Northwest Arkansas Community College in Bentonville have 11 new labs to simulate emergency room and other scenarios in the newly opened 

Center for Health Professions. [PHOTO BY ROB HANLON] 

“It will better prepare our students for the world they’ll see when they 

leave Northwest Arkansas Community College. They’ll know what it’s 

like to work as part of a team. There are a multitude of situations we 

can put our students in through the simulations. We can make sure 

the first encounter they have with an ICU setting or the scene of an 

accident is not with a real patient.” 

[MARY ROSS, DEAN OF HEALTH PROFESSIONS AT NORTHWEST ARKANSAS COMMUNITY COLLEGE] 

“We want to provide the community 

with a health care worker 

that is in demand, regardless 

of what the demand is,” Ross 

said. “We have the programs 

we do now because those were 

the needs in the community. 

If those dynamics change, we 

want to be positioned so that 

we can rapidly respond to the 

needs of the community.” 

NWACC President Becky 

Paneitz, who plans to retire at 

the end of June, told those gathered 

for a Jan. 18 grand opening 

ceremony that an estimated 

95 percent of program students 

remain in northwest Arkansas 

after graduation. 

That should be good news 

for the future of health care in 

the area. With five hospitals in 

Benton and Washington counties, 

there are jobs to fill. 

“We are thrilled at the many 

opportunities this new center 

will provide our current students 

and generations of students 

to come,” Paneitz said. 

“Ultimately, the new center will 

enhance our ability to educate 

and prepare those seeking a 

career in the health professions. 

That’s a positive development 

for our students and for the 

patients who will be served by 

these well-trained professionals. 

Ultimately, it’s good for our 

whole community.” n


Ranked by residential units 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

13 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

19 

Facility 

Address 

Phone 

Parkway Village 

14300 Chenal Pkwy. 

Little Rock 72211 

(501) 202-1626 

Audubon Pointe 

100 Audubon Drive 

Maumelle 72113 

(501) 851-1821 

Concordia Retirement Center 

1 Concordia Drive 

Bella Vista 72714 

(479) 855-3714 

Presbyterian Village 

510 N. Brookside Drive 


(501) 225-1615 

Emeritus at Pleasant Hills 

800 Napa Valley Drive 


(501) 225-9405 

Country Club Village 

1925 Malvern Ave. 

Hot Springs 71901 

(501) 624-6435; (501) 881-4318 

Nantucket Apartments 

611 E. Nantucket Drive 

Fayetteville 72701 

(479) 442-4132 

Woodland Heights 

8700 Riley Drive 


(501) 224-4242 

Albert Pike Hotel 

701 Scott St. 


(501) 372-5211 

Gardens at Arkanshire 

5000 Arkanshire Circle 

Springdale 72764 

(479) 750-1131 

Fox Ridge Senior Living-Bryant 

4216 Fox Ridge Drive 

Bryant 72022 

(501) 847-3400 

Apple Blossom 

2501 N. 22nd St. 

Rogers 72756 

(479) 616-1791 

Butterfield Place 

8420 Phoenix Ave. 

Fort Smith 72903 

(479) 484-5200; (479) 668-0545 

Harding Place 

801 S. Benton Ave. 

Searcy 72143 

(501) 305-3100 

South Wind Heights Retirement 

2305 Bernard St. 

Jonesboro 72401 

(870) 932-9288 

Good Samaritan Society-Hot Springs 

Village 

121 Cortez Road 

Hot Springs 71909 

(501) 922-2000 

Andover Place 

2601 Andover Court 


(501) 224-0441 

Innisfree Senior Living Community 

300 Innisfree Circle 

Rogers 72758 

(479) 636-7363 

Buffington Towers Apartments 

224 E. 7th St. 


(501) 372-6434 

Sebastian County Retirement Center 

115 Fort St. 

Barling 72923 

(479) 452-4949 

The List 

Retirement Communities 

No. Living 

Units 

Administrator 

Website Description 

338B Marsha Cunningham 

www.ParkwayVillageAR.com 

203 Shane Lowery 

www.AudubonPointe.com 

187 Jeff Tonack 

www.ConcordiaRetirement.com 

183 Dan Yancy 

www.PresbyVillage.com 

Amenities include a dining hall, convenience store, fitness center, swimming pool, beauty/ 

barber shop, chapel and library. 

Subsidized by HUD and designed for disabled persons and people age 62 and older; 

Amenities a game room, salon and transportation for shopping only. Security is provided. 

Mix of townhouses and apartments; provides 24-hour security, one meal per day, an 

emergency call system, a wellness clinic, transportation, housekeeping, home maintenance 

and lawn care. 

Continuing-care retirement facility for adults 62 and older that offers dental care, local 

transportation, an exercise room, housekeeping, a 24-hour emergency call system. 

175 www.Emeritus.com Senior apartments on three floors, with studio, one-bedroom, one-bedroom handicap, and 

two-bedroom apartments available in our main building. We also have one- and twobedroom 

cottages. 

166 Jim Gothard 

www.SunshineRetirementLiving.com 

Complex features cottages and apartments, all with kitchens. There is no lease or buy-in 

required. The monthly fee includes meals, maid service, cable, activities, linen service, an 

exercise room, transportation and a library. 

148 www.PPM-INC.us Exclusively for persons age 55 and older; features community center equipped with kitchen, 

craft room, laundry room and post office. All utilities are paid except cable, telephone and 

electric. 

145 Christy Tucker 

www.WoodlandHeightsLLC.com 

Offers studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments; gated community; weekly housekeeping 

service; scheduled transportation to doctors and shopping; 24-hour security. 

131 Amanda Cunningham Efficiency, studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments with kitchen facilities. 

130 www.HolidayTouch.com Apartments for monthly rental with no buy-in fees or leases. Garden homes with all major 

appliances are also available. 

122 Dollie Braslavsky 

www.FoxRidgeLiving.net 

The monthly fee includes meals, housekeeping and linen service, transportation, activities, 

etc. 

117 www.HolidayTouch.com Services include live-in managers, meals, a travel program. 

115 www.HolidayTouch.com Features independent apartment living, meals, transportation, housekeeping, etc. 

115 Karen Churchill 

www.HardingPlace.org 

Owned by Harding University, monthly rentals, maintenance, 24-hour staff and 

transportation. 

114 www.HolidayTouch.com No lease is required and amenities include meals, scheduled transportation, weekly 

housekeeping, linen service, free laundry facilities and social activities. 

112 Cheryl Jackson 

www.Good-Sam.com 

111 Lynn Murdock 

Lisa Murdock 

www.HolidayTouch.com 

110 Shane Cluck 

Pam Wood 

www.InnisfreeSeniorLiving.com 

104 Sherry Hale Independent living community 

Operated by the Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society, the campus features 

variously-sized apartments as well as twin homes. 

This apartment community's monthly rental fee also includes three meals daily, weekly 

housekeeping, transportation, scheduled activities and beauty/barber shops. Managers live 

on the premises, and an intercom is in each apartment. 

Offers independent and assisted living apartments and cottages with full kitchens. Services 

include Lifeline, meals, housekeeping, transportation, and personal care assistance. No 

buy-in or endowment required. 

104C Sharon Putman Two-building residential facility that includes apartments and double-occupancy rooms. 

Phase I accepts mentally ill patients, while Phase II is primarily for elderly residents. 

Sources: the facilities and their websites; "Living in Arkansas"; RetirementHomes.com 1 Denotes independent and assisted living facilities 2 

Maximum residency in rooms and apartments 

Researched by Roxanne Jones and Gwen 

Moritz

Sherwood Convenience Store 

Rings Up $2.8M Transaction 

A Kum & Go convenience store in 

Sherwood tipped the scales at $2.8 million. 

Arc KGSWDAR001 LLC of Jenkintown, 

Pa., bought the 3400 E. Kiehl Ave. project 

from KG Store 150 LLC of Des Moines, 

Iowa. 

The 1.96-acre location was assembled 

in two March 2012 buys totaling 

$650,000. The sellers are Ernest Sam 

Lantrip, $400,000, and Marvin and 

Carletta Overton, $250,000. 

Dollar Acquisition 

A Dollar General store in Jacksonville 

changed hands in a $1.07 million transaction. 

Yolo Holdings LLC, led by Daniel 

Quaranto of Lynnbrook, N.Y., purchased 

the 22405 Highway 107 project. The seller 

is PB General Holdings (Macon) LLC, led 

by Scott Proctor. 

The deal is financed with a five-year 

loan of $700,000 from Arvest Bank of 

Fayetteville. 

The 1.22-acre development previously 

was tied to a March 2012 mortgage 

of $768,000 held by Summit Bank of 

Arkadelphia. 

3500+ 

ClieNTs 

The location was bought for $138,000 

10 months ago from the James Potter 

Living Trust. 

Sherwood Sale 

A 4,896-SF office-warehouse building 

in Sherwood is under new ownership 

after a $425,000 deal. 

Fourth Street LLC, led by Stuart 

Hankins, acquired the 1515 E. Kiehl 

Ave. property from Emanuel and Patsy 

Bates. 

The 0.54-acre location was purchased 

for $76,000 in December 1996 from 

Donald and Howard Norton. 

Riverbend Residence 

A 3,685-SF home in the Riverbend 

neighborhood of Little Rock sold for 

$750,000. 

Ginanne Long bought the residence in 

the Riverdale area from Constance and 

William Bowen. 

The Bowens acquired the property for 

$1.15 million in April 2006. 

The seller was The Mitchell Family 

Revocable Trust, led by Maurice and 

Elizabeth Mitchell. 

experience direction 

Real Deals 

George Waldon 

George@ABPG.com 

Bailey Financing 

Four apartment projects in Pulaski 

County were used to secure an $18.3 million 

funding agreement. 

Bailey Properties LLC, led by John 

Bailey, obtained the financial package 

from Bank of America in Charlotte, N.C. 

The apartments encompass three 

west Little Rock properties: the 256-unit 

Waterford project at 701 Green Mountain 

Drive, 80-unit Bowman Heights proj- 

Little Rock // 501.372.1040 Fort Smith // 479.452.1040 Rogers // 479.845.0270 bkd.com 


ect at 420 Markham Mesa Place and 

52-unit Markham Oaks project at 8118 W. 

Markham St. The fourth project is the 

170-unit Indian Hills Apartments complex 

at 2011 Aztec Drive in North Little 

Rock. 

The properties previously were linked 

with a June 2002 mortgage of $7.5 million, 

a February 2006 mortgage of $6.5 

million, a March 2008 mortgage of $1.7 

million and a July 2009 mortgage of 

$1.2 million all held by Regions Bank of 

Birmingham, Ala. 

The 13.1-acre Waterford development 

was purchased for $6.8 million in April 

1993 from BRW Real Estate Operating Co. 

Ltd. of Dallas. 

The 8.8-acre Indian Hills development 

was bought for $4.2 million in June 

1997 from Love Apartment Communities 

of St. Louis. 

The 3.87-acre Bowman Heights development 

was acquired for $1.36 million 

in July 1994 from RCDC, led by Dr. C.D. 

Williams and Anna Williams and David 

and Kay Jones. 

The 1.4-acre Markham Oaks development 

was purchased for $1 million in 

December 1996 from Wayne and Margy 

Carlson. 

The Waterford and Bowman Heights 

projects also are backed with a $7.5 

million bond issue through the Pulaski 

County Public Facilities Board. 

This 30-year financing replaces an 

August 2005 PCPFB bond issue of 

$6.4 million. n 

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Harding University’s 

American Studies Institute 

Distinguished Lecture Series 

presents 

stephen moore 

“How America Can Get Its Mojo Back” 

Stephen Moore joined The Wall Street Journal in 2005 as a 

member of the editorial board and senior economics 

writer. He splits his time between Washington, D.C., 

and New York, focusing on economic issues including 

budget, tax and monetary policy. Over the years, 

Moore has served as a senior economist on the Congressional 

Joint Economic Committee, as a budget 

expert for the Heritage Foundation, and as a senior 

economics fellow at the Cato Institute. He was a 

consultant to the National Economic Commission 

in l987 and research director for President Reagan’s 

Commission on Privatization. Moore’s most recent 

book is Return to Prosperity: How America Can 

Regain Its Economic Superpower Status. Open seating 

— no tickets necessary. 

February 7, 2013 

7:30 p.m. | Benson Auditorium 

Co-sponsored by the Young America’s Foundation 

HARDING UNIVERSITY 

AMERICAN STUDIES INSTITUTE 

Neal Moore 

Goes Solo 

Neal Moore, a founding partner of Little 

Rock ad agency The Communications 

Group, is venturing out on his own with a 

company called NealMooreCreative. 

Moore, 59, is continuing to work with 

The Communications Group as a consultant, 

but is offering public relations, 

advertising, voice-over and marketing 

services through his own business. 

“I’m excited about it,” Moore said. 

“There does come a time in your life 

when you kind of want to have flexibility.” 

Moore was creative director for The 

Communications Group more than 25 

years. The Communication Group’s 

ownership transition should take three 

years, Moore said. 

Dane Cowling, another of the agency’s 

founding principals, is interim 

director of creative services for The 

Communications Group. 

New Publisher at The Courier 

The Saline Courier of Benton has named 

Steve Boggs publisher. 

During the first week in January, 

. Boggs replaced Terri Leifeste as publish- 

er of the daily newspaper. 

Boggs came to The Courier from a 

job in Neosho, Mo., where he served as 

group publisher of five GateHouse Media 

newspapers in Missouri and Kansas. 

Boggs is a native of Leflore, Okla., and 

Fall Arbitron Numbers 

Fall Fall 

Station Format Owner 2012 2011 Change 

KSSN-FM (KSSN 96 FM) Country Clear Channel 10.0 9.6 +0.4 

KMJX-FM (105.1 The Wolf) Classic Country Clear Channel 7.5 7.4 +0.1 

KLAL-FM (Alice 107.7) Contemporary Hit Music Cumulus Media 6.2 5.6 +0.6 

KABZ-FM (103.7 The Buzz) Talk/Personality Signal Media 5.9 5.5 +0.4 

KKPT-FM (The Point 94.1 FM) Classic Rock Signal Media 5.9 5.6 +0.3 

KURB-FM (B98.5) Adult Contemporary Cumulus Media 5.3 3.8 +1.5 

KIPR-FM (Power 92) Urban Contemporary Cumulus Media 4.8 6.3 -1.5 

KDJE-FM (The Edge 100.3) Rock Clear Channel 4.5 4.4 +0.1 

KARN-FM (News Radio 102.9) News/Talk Cumulus Media 3.7 3.7 0 

KHLR-FM (Heartbeat 106.6) Rhythm & Blues/Oldies Signal Media 3.7 3.4 +0.3 

KHKN-FM (94.9 Tom-FM) Adult Hits Clear Channel Media 3.1 4.3 -1.2 

KHTE-FM (kHits 96.5)* Pop Contemporary Hits Capital City 1.7 0.7 +1 

Broadcasting 

KKSP-FM (Fresh Talk 93.3)** News/Talk Capital City 0.6 0.7 -0.1 

Broadcasting 

KCNY-FM (Y 107.1) Country Crain Media Group 0.6 0.9 -0.3 

KOLL-FM (La Zeta 106.3) Spanish Vega Broadcasting N/A 0.9 N/A 

KARN-AM (The Sports Animal) Sports Cumulus Media N/A 0.6 N/A 

KAAY-AM (1090 AM) Religious/Southern Gospel Cumulus Media N/A 0 N/A 

*KHTE switched to news and talk programming this month. The fall ratings period was Sept. 13- 

Dec. 5. 

**KKSP switched to an all-sports format this month. 

Source: Arbitron 

Outtakes 

Kate Knable 

KKnable@ABPG.com 

has nearly 30 years of newspaper experience. 

Fall Arbitron Results 

The fall radio ratings from media and 

marketing firm Arbitron of Columbia, 

Md., were released this month for the 

Little Rock metropolitan area, which 

includes Faulkner, Lonoke, Pulaski and 

Saline counties. 

The metro area has a population of 

578,800 people. 

Arbitron aggregated the radio listening 

habits of 1,681 people in the Little 

Rock metro who were surveyed during 

the ratings period of Sept. 13-Dec. 5. 

Radio stations that do not subscribe to 

the Arbitron ratings are not included in 

the share data Arbitron releases publicly. 

The Outtakes chart contains the average 

quarter-hour share data of listeners 

12 and older, 6 a.m.-midnight Monday 

through Sunday. Each share point equals 

1 percent of total radio listening in the 

market. n

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Rick 

Watkins 

1. Update: AT&T U-Verse Blames Server for ‘Limited’ Outage 

Thousands of customers across southern U.S. without internet, cable. 

2. Game & Fish Vice Chair Rick Watkins Arrested in Lonoke County 

Accused of being intoxicated, fi ring pistol. Term ends in 2014. 

3. Bass Pro Shop Site in Little Rock Rings Up $3 Million Transaction 

Store slated to anchor 29-acre Gateway Town Center near Otter Creek. 

4. Atlantic Tele-Network to Sell Alltel Business to AT&T for $780M 

Unclear what deal means for Allied Wireless’ Little Rock headquarters. 

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Reform Spurs 

QualChoice’s 

New Products 

QualChoice of Little Rock will begin 

offering dental, vision and short-term 

gap health insurance this spring, which 

is one of several changes it’s making in 

response to national health care reform. 

President and CEO Michael Stock said 

QualChoice is adding the lines because 

profits are limited under its large group 

and small and individual health insurance 

lines. 

Under the Affordable Care Act, also 

known as Obamacare, health insurance 

companies must spend at least 85 

percent of the premium they collect on 

health care for customers in large group 

policies and 80 percent on small group 

and individual policies. (A small group 

policy is up to 100 employees.) If the 

health insurance company spends less 

on health care costs under those plans, 

the difference could be refunded to policyholders. 

Stock said it’s difficult to operate 

under the medical loss ratios because of 

the limit placed on how much money can 

be kept to cover administrative expenses. 

Before the law took effect in 2011, if 

the large group line suffered a loss, then 

the profits from the small group line 

could subsidize those. But not anymore. 

“Every product has to be profitable 

and hit the loss ratios,” Stock said. 

To add more revenue, QualChoice 

started selling Medicare supplemental 

insurance coverage and life insurance 

products in 2011. 

To trim administrative expenses, in 

the summer of 2011 QualChoice reduced 

the amount of commission it paid on 

first-year sales for individual lines from 

15 percent to 8 percent. 

Company revenue for the first three 

quarters of 2012 was $110.5 million, a 

slight decline from $110.9 million 

for the same period in 2011, according 

to its filing with the Arkansas Insurance 

Department. 

However, it reported a loss of $3.3 

million, compared to a $22,589 profit 

Michael Stock, president and CEO of 

QualChoice. 


Health Care 

Mark Friedman 

MFriedman@APBG.com 

for the same period in 2011. And by 

the end of 2011, QualChoice had a loss 

of $4.6 million. The company had a 2010 

profit of $2 million. 

Stock said “a lot of the loss” in 2011 

was tied to the implementation costs 

associated with health care reform. The 

company also had high-cost claims that 

year. 

The 2012 loss through Sept. 30 

stemmed from “high claimants,” Stock 

said, with one claim over $2 million. 

In the coming months, QualChoice is 

expected to officially announce its participation 

in the state health insurance 

exchange. 

In October, the exchange is expected 

to start enrolling individuals and 

employees of small businesses for policies 

that go into place Jan. 1. 

It’s estimated that more than 200,000 

Arkansans will be buying insurance 

through the exchange, and some of those 

will certainly buy from QualChoice. 

“Any business likes new customers,” 

Stock said. 

But, he said, there are still a lot of 

unknowns about the exchange, including 

what it will cost policyholders and 

the insurance companies. 

“The question is, what’s the price have 

to be to offer coverage to those people? 

And what’s the cost of providing care 

to them going to be? And can you do it 

profitably?” 

Stock said he also is unsure what the 

demand for health care services will be 

for those who currently don’t have insurance. 

“Are there diabetics that haven’t been 

managed?” he said. “Those could be 

high-cost patients.” 

The health care reform law prohibits 

insurance companies from turning 

people down for coverage based on preexisting 

conditions. 

Stock said he thinks the price of a 

health insurance policy in the exchange 

will be higher than traditional coverage 

today. 

Still, the federal government will provide 

a subsidy to the policyholders to 

buy the insurance in the exchange. The 

amount of the subsidy will be based on 

the policyholder’s income. 

One of the goals of health care reform 

is to lower health care costs, but Stock 

said he hasn’t seen prices fall since the 

health reform law was passed in 2010. n


The 

Ethics 

Floor 

EDITORIAL 

A 

question from one of our office 

wits (we’re blessed with several): 

If we can’t legislate morality, 

can we at least legislate common 

sense? 

The remark referred to Rick Watkins, 

a state Game & Fish commissioner 

charged with public intoxication and 

disorderly conduct, but a number of 

other state officials could be included. 

We’ll mention just two: State Sen. 

Jeremy Hutchinson of gator-attack and 

campaign-fund-violation renown and 

State Treasurer Martha Shoffner, flouter 

of legislative subpoenas and target of 

a criminal investigation over her handling 

of state money. 

In addition to the lack of judgment 

exhibited by these three, they share 

another distinction: Each is the subject 

of spectacularly unflattering photos 

that have appeared in the media. 

Which, we think, brings us to the 

subject of ethics legislation and, in a 

Associate Publisher Chip Taulbee 

Editor Gwen Moritz 

Art Director Wayne DePriest 

EDITORIAL 

Managing Editor Jan Cottingham 

Interactive Editor Lance Turner 

Senior Editors Chris Bahn, Mark Friedman, 

George Waldon 

Assistant Editors Luke Jones, Kate Knable 

Editorial Intern Jennifer Ellis 

Managing Editor, Business & Sports 

Special Pubs Todd Traub 

InArkansas.com Editor Lauren James 

Assistant Interactive Editor 

Tre Baker 

Innovate Arkansas Editor 

Mark Carter 

Online Calendar Editor Blair Tidwell 

Researcher Roxanne Jones 

Multimedia Producer Trent Ogle 

SALES & MARKETING 

Vice President of Business Sales 

Bonnie Jacoby 

Senior Account Executives 

Rosemary Bruton, Rebecca Patton 

Account Executives 

Greg Churan, Neil Gray, 

Carrie Sublett 

Advertising Coordinators 

Bekah Caraway, 

Kristen Heldenbrand, Alissa Mathews 

Marketing Manager Allyson Pittman 

Marketing Coordinator 

Bethany Johnson 

Director of Marketing 

Jake Sligh 

Marketing Assistant Denise Brockinton 

Advertising Assistant Stacy Levy 

STAFF DIRECTORY 

SPECIAL PUBLICATIONS 

Editor, Little Rock Soirée Jennifer C. Pyron 

Managing Editor, Little Rock Soirée 

Amanda Hoelzeman 

Editor, Little Rock Family Heather Bennett 

Consumer Publications Editor Lindsay Irvin 

Consumer Publications Assistant Editor 

Sam Smith 

Database Administrator 

Alex Graham 

Sales Manager, Little Rock Soirée 

Graham Cobb 

Senior Account Executives 

Tasha Amos, Betsy Tilley 

Account Executives 

Haley Dearman, Luci Deere, 

Katie Fortenberry Peek, Michelle Foshee, 

Brandy Hubener, Jamie Mabry 

DESIGN 

Production Manager Tona Jolly 

Senior Art Director Irene Forbes 

Art Directors 

John Atkinson, Dean Wheeler, Waynette Traub 

Advertising Art Directors 

Marcus Boyce, Erin Lang 

Digital Operations Specialist 

Rebekah Eveland 

CIRCULATION 

Circulation Manager Dana Meyer 

Circulation Coordinator Cara Gieringer 

FLEX360 

WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT 

Director Brent Birch 

Interactive Creative Director Mike Ortega 

Senior Web Designer Lance Corder 

Senior Web Developers 

Chris Earls, Jonathan Peoples 

Interactive Traffic Manager Zack Hill 


Business 

Views 

Arkansas Business’ Opinion Page 

broader sense, the effort to establish an 

ethics “floor,” a bare minimum of ethical 

conduct below which, we hope, public 

servants do not sink. 

Here’s the take-away: We think solid 

ethics legislation is grand and solid ethics 

even grander. 

Two recent efforts in Arkansas come 

to mind. The first is a proposed initiated 

act that would limit donations to candidates 

from corporations and unions and 

bar legislators and constitutional officers 

from receiving lobbyists’ gifts. The 

second is a campaign reform bill to bar 

“multiple campaign contributions from 

corporate entities controlled by the same 

majority owner.” 

Although neither of these efforts 

directly addresses the problem of tacky 

behavior by public servants (in other 

words, we still might see headlines like 

“Wildlife official drunk, ranting, report 

states”), they’re steps in the right direction. 

n 

ADMINISTRATION 

Accounting Manager Hal Lammey 

Accounting Assistant Kim Clark 

Human Resources Bill Page 

Executive Assistant Christine Harris 

Digital Media Assistant Mary McLachclan 

Chairman & CEO 

Olivia Myers Farrell 

Chief Operating Officer 

Chuck Ballard 

Chief Information Officer 

Brent Birch 

Consumer Publications Publisher 

Rachel Bradbury 

Business & Sports Publications Publisher 

Chip Taulbee 

Interactive Editor 

Lance Turner 

122 E. Second St., Little Rock, AR 72201 

(501) 372-1443 Fax: (501) 375-7933 

ArkansasBusiness.com ● abpg.com 

© Copyright 2013 

Arkansas Business Limited Partnership 

De-Comforting 

and 

Re-Comforting 

Following our spate of winter 

weather, power outages and flu 

outbreaks, it seems an appropriate 

time to discuss discomfort. 

Much of marketing and sales success 

comes down to a company’s ability to 

create the right type of discomfort — and 

then comfort — among customers and 

prospects. 

Advertising has for decades provided 

vivid examples of “you shouldn’t live 

with this any longer.” I mean, who knew 

“ring around the collar” was such an 

issue until the makers of Wisk detergent 

pointed it out? 

Marketing messages are commonly 

designed to make you dissatisfied with 

what you make, how you look, whom 

(or whether) you date or how you spend 

your time. Those classic ads also manage 

to pair the message of “your status quo 

isn’t good enough” with a ready solution 

that will move you to a higher state of 

confidence and comfort. Check out the 

old Wisk TV ads on YouTube; just by buying 

and pouring the product on shirts 

you could make a seemingly intractable 

problem go away! 

You can learn from the sequence. 

First comes a process of unearthing a 

problem with today’s common situation 

or approach, often with an emotional 

hook (let’s call that “de-comforting”). 

Next is the path toward resolution, with 

the sponsor/marketer emerging as the 

logical and trustworthy partner for getting 

there (“re-comforting”). 

This sequence of de-comforting then 

re-comforting is easy to recognize yet 

difficult to pull off. I have seen several 

patterns emerge over the years when 

working with 

executive, mar- 

keting, product, 

service and sales 

teams. 

Some teams 

veer off course 

with their messages 

and tactics during 

the de-comforting 

stage. They 

carry the assumptions that prospects 

are largely ignorant, need “educating” or 

otherwise don’t get it. These teams feel 

more agitation with the status quo than 

do their prospective customers. 

Many teams unfortunately take a pass 

on the de-comforting step; they wait for 

the discomfort to come to them. They 

consider themselves primed and ready for 

the re-comforting stage (perhaps in the 

form of a customer request or RFP). But 

by that time the terms of discomfort have 

likely been established by someone else. 

While some teams fail to de-comfort 

effectively, others miss the mark on 

On Marketing 

Jim Karrh 

JimKarrh@AOL.com 

Arkansas Business welcomes Letters to the Editors. 

Letters must be signed and writers must include their 

hometowns and contact information so we can confi rm 

their identity. Letters are subject to editing for clarity, 

length, spelling and punctuation. 

Letters may be mailed to Editor Gwen Moritz, Arkansas 

Business, 122 E. Second St., Little Rock, AR 72201; faxed 

to (501) 375-7933; or e-mailed to GMoritz@ABPG.com. 

re-comforting. Sure, their messages are 

designed to establish trust and credibility 

— but the messages are too often so 

company- or feature-focused as to lose 

the connection to the original problem 

with the customer’s status quo. 

Your team will be effective by pushing 

discomfort in the right way and to the 

right degree, showing a practical path for 

correcting the problem, then making the 

case for why you — and not some other 

alternative — are the person or company 

to get them there. 

What are some good practices to follow 

in de-comforting? 

w Don’t attack a customer’s past decisions. 

w Don’t slam competitors or talk about 

yourself too much; focus on the customer’s 

reality. 

w Make sure that customers know they 

aren’t the only ones in this non-ideal 

status quo. After all, if they believe the 

problem is uniquely theirs, then they 

might assume they’re a lost cause. 

w Do point out the common problems 

in the status quo for them and peer organizations, 

or how common approaches 

diverge from practices you know would 

work better. 

w Do your homework and ask questions 

so that you understand the pain 

points of the flawed status quo. Don’t just 

ask prospects what their pain points are. 

w Don’t start proposing solutions 

(which is part of re-comforting) before 

you have explored 

and understood 

the de-comforting. 

Effective recomfortingpractices 

include: 

w Create with 

your customer or 

prospect a shared 

vision of what 

“problem resolution” 

or that “better tomorrow” looks 

like. 

w Talk about your differentiators and 

expertise. 

w Use stories and examples that feel 

relevant to the customer. Some companies 

put together case studies in a way 

that unfortunately fails to connect. 

Is your company equally adept at decomforting 

and re-comforting? n 

Jim Karrh of Little Rock is a marketing 

consultant, researcher, speaker and 

author. Visit JimKarrh.com or email him 

at Jim@JimKarrh.com.

Internet Vital to 

Arkansas’ Growth 

The Internet is a catalyst for job creation 

and an amazing accelerator 

for innovation. The Internet not 

only drives economic growth across the 

globe, but also increases the success of 

small businesses and job creators across 

the U.S. As our nation continues its economic 

recovery, Arkansas has a vested 

interest in protecting the Internet and its 

ability to bolster economic growth. 

Washington is often locked in partisan 

gridlock that is heavy on rhetoric but light 

on solutions. Congress can reach bipartisan 

solutions by supporting policies that 

promote a free and innovative Internet. We 

urge all lawmakers at every level of government 

— from mayors to state representatives 

to our federal representatives in 

Washington — to press for pro-Internet 

legislation that rewards entrepreneurs who 

create jobs right here in Arkansas. 

Elected officials from Arkansas have 

already taken action. When Congress 

attempted to censor the Internet through 

two misguided bills, the Arkansas congressional 

delegation fought back. These bills 

spurred an expansive grassroots movement, 

illustrating the importance of an 

innovative, free and decentralized Internet. 

And again, later that same year, when 

the United Nations attempted to expand 

its authority over the Internet, U.S. delegates, 

backed by support from Arkansas 

leaders and many international allies, 

protested by walking out of treaty talks. 

Sens. Mark Pryor and John Boozman 

have supported Internet freedom. Now, 

all of the members of the Arkansas congressional 

delegation must continue 

this fight to protect the Internet ecosystem. 

We appreciate the efforts of the 

Arkansas delegation and encourage all 

policymakers to continue working in a 

bipartisan manner to protect Internet 

freedom and promote local economic 

development. 

Internet jobs are no longer found 

solely in Silicon Valley; they are on 

Main Street America, in every state. The 

Internet is a critical tool for economic 

success as it creates jobs in Arkansas, 

inspires entrepreneurs of tomorrow and 

promotes Arkansas small businesses. 

It helps retailers like Gearhead, Nativ 

and Country Outfitters expand their 

businesses to markets across the country. 

It also helps working moms and students 

achieve success. For instance, a 

central Arkansas mother of three sells 

multi-med therapy skin care products 

across the state as an independent consultant 

with Rodan & Fields, an entirely 

e-commerce-based national direct 

sales company. Dental student William 

Wilson pays his school tuition by using 

profits from Ruf Nek, his dog collar 

startup business in northwest Arkansas. 

The Internet affects many of Arkansas’ 

economic sectors. Thanks to increased 

online ad campaigns and help from the 

online community, Arkansas’ tourism 

industry is booming. The state’s tourism 

website earned a No. 1 market share 

among neighboring states with website 

visits of more than 4.7 million last year, 

positioning it in the top 10 among tourism 

websites nationwide. 

The Internet also contributes to the 

education sector by increasing access to 

education and enabling the University 

of Arkansas’ global campus with online 

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• Large Apartments With 

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Available 

• All Utilities Paid 

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Guest Column 

Michael Beckerman 

News@InternetAssociation.org 

undergraduate and graduate courses for 

anyone in the world to experience. 

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& Whirlpool 

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VIEWS 


Internet policy must be a priority for 

Arkansas. We believe that to continue 

to protect Arkansans — your jobs, your 

businesses, your Internet — we must 

pave the way for a free and innovative 

Internet. We must not stifle the Internet’s 

potential; rather, we must help accelerate 

its growth for America’s future. n 

Michael Beckerman is president and 

CEO of the Internet Association, a trade 

organization based in Washington, D.C., 

that represents the interests of the leading 

Internet companies, including Amazon. 

com, AOL, eBay, Expedia, Facebook, 

Google, IAC, LinkedIn and Monster 

Worldwide. He can be reached at News@ 

InternetAssociation.org.


ENTRY DEADLINE FEBRUARY 8 

Real Estate 

Marketplace 


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PUBLIC AND PRIVATE 

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Q&A 

WITH STATE’S 

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April 16 2012 • VOL. 29 ISSUE 16 

AS360_Exec_Golf_rev.indd 1 4/4/12 3:38 PM 

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Friday, Feb. 15th ● 12:03 p.m. 

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above *$400,000! 

AUCTION 

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For advertising information contact Bonnie Jacoby (501) 372-1443 Bonnie@ABPG.com 

INSPECTION / OPEN HOUSE: 

Sunday, February 3 and Sunday, February 10 

2:00 to 4:00 p.m.

Movers+ Shakers 

CONSTRUCTION 

Justin Wisdom has been promoted to 

vice president of business 

development 

at SSi Design-Build 

Constructors in Fort 

Smith. Prior to his promotion, 

Wisdom served 

as senior project man- 

Justin 

Wisdom 

Texas A&M University. 

ager. He has a bachelor’s 

degree in business 

administration from 

EDUCATION 

Lalit Verma, head of the Department 

of Biological & Agricultural 

Engineering at 

the University of Arkansas 

at Fayetteville, 

has been elected president 

of the American 

Society of Agricultural 

Lalit 

Verma 

& Biological Engineers. 

Verma served as the 

head of the department 

of biological engineering at Louisiana 

State University before relocating to 

the University of Arkansas in 2000. He 

has gained international recognition 

through his research in post-harvest 

engineering and technology. 

Michael Hunter Schwartz has been 

named the new dean 

of the William H. Bowen 

School of Law at the 

University of Arkansas 

at Little Rock. In addition 

to serving as 

associate dean for fac- 

Michael Hunter 

Schwartz 

ulty and academic 

development at the 

Washburn University 

School of Law in Topeka, Kan., he was 

also employed as a professor of law in 

Charleston, S.C., and earned his doctorate 

from the University of California 

Hastings College of Law. Schwartz will 

succeed Paula Casey, who was named 

interim dean upon John DiPippa’s resignation 

as dean in July 2012. 

Risa Dickson has been named the 

provost and vice president 

of academic 

affairs at Henderson 

State University in 

Arkadelphia. She will 

join Henderson in July 

after fulfilling her final 

Risa 

Dickson 


Business 

Submit news items to ArkansasBusiness.com/Movers 

duties as associate provost 

for academic personnel 

at California 

State University in San Bernardino, 

where she was associate dean of the 

College of Arts & Letters from 2004-06. 

FINANCIAL SERVICES 

Rodney Abston has been promoted 

to senior vice president with Regions 

Bank in Little Rock. Abston has been 

with the company for six years and has 

held various positions, including commercial 

and industrial relationship 

manager and credit process manager. 

His recent clients include public, institutional 

and nonprofit organizations. 

Tammy Whitley has 

been named vice president 

and mortgage 

market manager of 

Bank of the Ozarks in 

Benton. Whitley has 

22 years of financial 

Tammy 

Whitley 

Andrew 

Brock 

experience and owned 

Union Equity Mortgage 

from 2001-08. 

Andrew Brock has 

been promoted to 

president of Citizens 

State Bank of Bald 

Knob by Chairman and 

CEO Larry Kerchner. 

Previously a lending 

manager and marketing 

director, Brock, who 

joined the bank in 2004, 

was also elected to the company’s board 

of directors as of Oct. 4. 

Jason Culpepper of 

Sherwood has been 

promoted to city president 

for Conway by 

Regions Bank. He has 

been with the company 

for five years and 

Jason 

Culpepper 

2007-12. 

previously served as a 

business banking relationship 

manager from 

HEALTH CARE 

Dr. John A. Baldridge, an endocrinologist 

and associate professor 

at the University 

of Arkansas for Medical 

Sciences in Little Rock, 

has joined the hospital’s 

Weight Loss & 

Metabolic Program as 

John 

Baldridge 

medical director. After 

completing his residency 

at UAMS, Baldridge 

also practiced medicine at Baptist 

Hospital and the Geriatric Research 

Education Clinical Center, which is 

part of the Central Arkansas Veterans 

Healthcare System. 

Rita 

Price 

Super Mover 

A closer look behind a prominent promotion 

This Week: Martha Miller, director of the Arkansas Department of Heritage 

Background: Martha 

Miller attended 

Lyon College and the 

University of Arkansas 

at Little Rock. She 

also graduated in 1978 

with a law degree 

from the UALR William 

H. Bowen School 

of Law. 

Experience: In 

addition to being a 

lobbyist and selfemployed 

attorney, 

Miller has served as a 

board member of the 

Little Rock Interfaith 

Hospitality Network, 

Audubon Arkansas 

and Lyon College. She 

previously held the 

position of deputy 

director of the Department 

of Arkansas 

Heritage Museums, 

which oversees many 

of the state’s cultural 

and artistic institutions. 

New Position: Miller 

will replace former 

ADH Director Cathie 

Matthews, who served for 15 years before 

retiring last year. “Martha is a lifelong Arkansan 

who has strong experience within the 

department and with state government,” 

MANUFACTURING 

Rita Price has been hired as the human 

resource manager for 

Schulze & Burch Biscuit 

Co., a food production 

company in Searcy. 

Price, a native Arkansan 

with more than 20 

years of experience 

in HR, was previously 

employed by National 

Wallcovering/Colour & 

Design, Molex and Heifer International 

and is a member of the Society for 

Human Resources Management. 

MEDIA/MARKETING 

Angele Forrest, a public relations coordinator 

for IberiaBank 

in Little Rock, has 

been named president 

of the Arkansas chapter 

of the International 

Association of Business 

Communicators for 

Angele 

Forrest 

2013. Before joining 

IberiaBank in 2010, 

Forrest served as a mar- 


Miller previously served as the deputy director of the Department 

of Arkansas Heritage Museums. [PROVIDED PHOTO] 

Gov. Mike Beebe said in a press release. 

“Promoting her from her position as deputy 

director was an easy and sensible decision in 

light of Cathie Matthews’ retirement.” n 

keting director at Transamerica Worksite 

Marketing and oversaw completion of 

the World of the Pharaohs exhibit at the 

Arkansas Arts Center. 

REAL ESTATE 

Travis Roe has joined the Rogers 

branch of national realty 

chain Crye-Leike. Roe 

has been a licensed real 

estate agent in northwest 

Arkansas since 

2005 and works to assist 

residents in Benton and 

Travis 

Roe 

Washington counties. 

In addition to his realty 

career, Roe was also the 

co-owner of Northwest Arkansas Lawns, 

a landscaping company in Springdale. n 

Movers and Shakers 

Have a new employee or one recently 

promoted? Recently elected to a board 

of directors? Include it in the Movers & 

Shakers section. Contact Gwen Moritz at 

GMoritz@ABPG.com or (501) 372-1443.



Business 

Exec Q&A 

To submit questions or interview suggestions, email GMoritz@ABPG.com 

Dr. Joe Thompson is responsible for developing health policy, research 

activities and programs that promote better health and health care in 

Arkansas. 

What can Arkansans do to be 

healthier? First, we all need to 

recognize our personal responsibility 

for doing what we can to stay 

healthy and not needing health care. 

But inevitably we will need health 

care, and we need a system that 

both delivers high-quality care and 

is aff ordable for all. Currently, one of 

every four working-age Arkansans 

does not have health insurance. At 

the same time, more than 50 percent 

of Arkansas adults are living with at 

least one chronic disease like cancer, 

diabetes or heart disease. As a result, 

more than 16 percent of Arkansans 

have reported that they could not see 

a doctor due to cost. 

Is Obamacare just a step on the 

road toward a single-payer sys- 

tem? It does expand government’s 

role by subsidizing low-income 

workers to buy private insurance and 

giving states the opportunity to use 

federal funds to help support the 

poor through Medicaid, but its intent 

is not for a single-payer system. 

While improving insurance coverage 

and access to care will save an 

estimated 2,300 lives per year and 

have economic benefi ts for our state, 

the act does fall short on containing 

the cost of health care throughout 

the system. Luckily, we started the 

Payment Improvement Initiative 

before the ACA, and with businesses 

and insurance companies we are on 

the way to creating a more effi cient 

and aff ordable health care system. 

We need to take advantage of what 

is off ered through the federal health 

Definitely Delta Dental 

At Delta Dental, dental and vision benefits are not a sideline 

to our business – they are our specialty. 

That’s why more than 2,900 Arkansas companies choose us to be 

their benefits provider. 

Delta Dental also offers affordable dental and vision 

insurance for individuals and families. 

Call or visit our website to learn more about how Delta Dental 

can take care of all your dental and vision needs. 

Delta Dental of Arkansas 

www.DeltaDentalAR.com 

1-800-814-3451 

This Week: Dr. Joe Thompson 

Surgeon general for the state of Arkansas 

care law and at the same time work 

to minimize the risks it contains. 

What is your vision for the Payment 

Improvement Initiative? 

We are replacing a system in which 

fi nancial incentives lead to visits and 

procedures with one that centers 

on the patients’ needs, eliminates 

waste and achieves higher quality. 

For example, one in four seniors 

hospitalized for congestive heart 

failure is readmitted within 30 days. 

When the providers reach out to 

help provide appropriate follow-up 

care after discharge, the likelihood 

of such hospital readmissions can be 

dramatically reduced. 

Has gun violence become a 

public health issue, especially 

with regards to mental health? 

I think we need to take a look at 

the root causes of gun violence and 

develop evidence-based solutions 

much in the way we address other 

preventable threats to public health 

like tobacco and obesity. We have 

made progress in that mental health 

services are now being covered in 

most health insurance policies, but 

that is just a start. 

INSURING HEALTHY SMILES 

YEARS 

Bio: Joe Thompson 

Bio: Besides serving as surgeon 

general, general, Joe Thompson is also 

director of the Arkansas Centerter 

for for Health Improvement, 

professor of medicine and 

public health at the University 

of Arkansas for Medical 

Sciences in Little Rock and 

a general pediatrician. 

Education: Thompson 

earned his medical degree 

from UAMS and a master’s 

degree in public health 

from the University of North 

Carolina in Chapel Hill. 

How long can the country continue 

with the current health 

care model? Our health care 

system is at a tipping point brought 

on by an unhealthy population and 

rising health care costs. Unless we 

improve the health of our citizens 

and create more cost effi ciency 

within the health care system, we are 

facing a tsunami of medical treat- 

ment needs that we simply won’t be 

able to aff ord. The good news is that 

people recognize the problems. We 

are fortunate here in Arkansas that 

policymakers and many others are 

willing to work together on eff ective 

solutions. We are working toward 

a comprehensive rebuilding of our 

health care system that could well be 

a model for the nation. n

TALK ABOUT GOOD! 

That’s the business we’re in at 

Arkansas Community Foundation. 

We help Arkansans do good in 

their communities. And we help 

professional advisors like you — 

attorneys, CPAs, trust officers and 

financial planners — provide good 

advice about charitable giving. 

You understand your clients’ 

charitable goals. We have the 

tools and resources to make the 

philanthropic process simple, 

flexible and efficient. We can help 

your clients establish endowments 

that provide a permanent source 

of funding for the causes they 

care about without setting up a 

separate private foundation. 

THANKS FOR 

OPENING DOORS! 

Arkansas Community Foundation 

thanks professional advisors who 

have opened the doors to 

philanthropy for their clients 

during 2012. 

C. Brantly Buck 

Charles T. Coleman 

Randall Drake 

Karen Garrett 

Tina Green 

Ronald Hope 

Wayne A. Jones 

Mike Munnerlyn 

Andy Peeler 

Jennifer Pierce 

J. Merek Rowe 

Michael Schaufele 

Tom Womack 

Good Advice 

1400 West Markham, Suite 206 | Little Rock, Arkansas 72201 | 501-372-1116 | arcf@arcf.org

“Improving Arkansas’ health is key 

to building a strong economy.” 

baptist-health.com 

— Russ Harrington, Baptist Health President and CEO 

As the leading Arkansas-based, locally owned, not- 

for-profit, faith-based healthcare organization, we 

understand the critical link between healthy Arkansans 

and the well-being of our economy. 

We are committed to improving the health of our state 

and giving back to the communities we serve. As the 

third-largest private employer, we support our state’s 

economic health by providing more than 7,800 top- 

quality jobs, educating more registered nurses through 

our Baptist Health Schools than any other institution in 

the state and touching more than 1 million lives annually. 

Baptist Health will continue our strong contribution to 

Arkansas’ economy by investing in our hospitals and 

our workforce to ensure our patients receive long-term 

access to the highest quality of care. 

Our mission is about healing people and improving the 

health of the communities we serve. Keeping both -- the 

individuals and the neighborhoods where they live -- 

healthy is our greatest privilege.

Arkansas - Digital Publishing

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