- Empower Health Care Solutions, a Provider-led Arkansas Shared Savings Entity (PASSE) expands connection with SHARE to include real-time ADTs (Admission, Discharge and Transfers)
- Utilizing SHARE in addressing the overall health care needs of Medicaid beneficiaries who have complex behavioral health or intellectual and developmental disability (IDD) service needs
- Use of the Virtual Health Record (VHR) and Secure Messaging (SM) to coordinate and integrate treatment delivery across all of the individual’s providers
Little Rock, Arkansas – April, 2019 The only statewide HIE in Arkansas, State Health Alliance for Records Exchange announce a ground-breaking partnership that will enable more efficient healthcare services for patients across rural Arkansas who have complex behavioral health or intellectual and developmental disability (IDD) service needs.
By enhancing the connection with Empower Health Care Solutions, a Provider-led Arkansas Shared Savings Entity (PASSE) to the statewide HIE network, which includes Admission, Discharge and Transfer (ADT) data exchange, this integration of ADTs will have faster and more complete access to their patients’ most critical health information. The enhanced information access will improve patients’ care coordination, reduce treatment delays and assist with the elimination of unnecessary admission to the emergency room.
Additionally, SHARE provides Empower Health Care Solutions with 24-hour daily reports when the members are admitted and discharged from the emergency department or have an inpatient discharge. This collaboration is a continued effort to improve patient outcomes of Medicaid beneficiaries throughout Arkansas. The care coordinators are also using the VHR that displays information as a traditional clinical chart, with tabs to separate patient information into groups for easy chart review. It retrieves and shows all available data for a selected patient gathered from all participants within SHARE to enable a single, consolidated view of a patient’s health history. By also using SM the care coordinators are also able to communicate with providers and healthcare teams taking care of patients who have complex behavioral health or intellectual and developmental disability (IDD) needs.
Empower Health Care Solutions can view the following patient data through the SHARE VHR:
- Admission, Discharge and Transfer reports
- Allergies, Problems, Medications
- Demographic and Insurance information
- Laboratory results
- Radiology reports, image links
- Discharge Summaries
- Continuity of Care Documents
- Progress Notes
As the healthcare landscape continues to transform, HIEs may play a key role in providing data that fuels innovation. SHARE and Empower Health Care Solutions are working together to contribute to these innovation efforts such as population health initiatives and identifying potential social determinants of health.
About Empower Healthcare Solutions: Empower is run by six organizations working together. Empower Healthcare Solutions, LLC (Empower) is a Provider-led Arkansas Shared Savings Entity (PASSE). This new model of care was developed to address the overall health care needs of Medicaid beneficiaries who have complex behavioral health or intellectual and developmental disability (IDD) service needs. Goals of the PASSE program are to:
- Coordinate and integrate treatment delivery across all of the individual’s providers
- Improve total health outcomes for the target population
- Increase local services capacity to help individuals with IDD access quality care and support services within their own communities
- Ensure flexibility in the individuals’ service array to address all of their health care needs
- Slow or decrease spending growth and costly acute care stays by promoting efficient and effective services
Arkansas Community Health Network (ACHN). ACHN is composed of four health care systems: Baxter Regional Health System, North Arkansas Medical System, Unity Health, and White River Health System.
Beacon Health Options (Beacon). Beacon is the nation’s largest organization exclusively dedicated to assessing and addressing the clinical and social needs of individuals experiencing mental illness, addiction and developmental disabilities. In Arkansas, since 2010, Beacon has had contracts with the Department of Human Services to assist in administering the behavioral health care delivery system.
Independent Case Management (ICM). ICM is a statewide premier provider of home and community-based supports to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Statera. Statera is an entity comprised of leaders and innovators committed to serving the long-term support services needs of Arkansans, including those with behavioral health and developmental disability diagnoses. Together, the representatives of Statera have vast health care experience, spanning home health, hospice, skilled nursing facilities, assisted living facilities, independent care facilities, institutional pharmacies, retail pharmacies, medical clinics, rural health clinics, non-emergency transportation services; and full-service rehabilitation therapy businesses throughout Arkansas.
The Arkansas Healthcare Alliance, LLC. The Alliance is comprised of approximately 22 well-established inpatient and outpatient providers, who strive to provide quality behavioral health, substance use disorder, and intellectual and developmental disability services. Together, the Alliance offers individualized treatment to tens of thousands of Arkansas infants, children, adolescents, adults, and families.
Woodruff Health Group, LLC (ARcare/pharmacist). ARcare operates as a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC). In addition, ARcare is the statewide provider of medical and case management services for the Ryan White HIV/AIDS program. Over the last 30 years, ARcare has created a health care home through a network of 36 primary care clinics, three pharmacies, and four wellness centers to serve underserved communities and provide access to quality health care.
To learn more visit: https://www.getempowerhealth.com
The philosophy of Perspectives Behavioral Health Management, LLC is to provide top quality care to individuals and families served to help them achieve their treatment plan goals. Key principles of treatment include evidenced based practices to accurately assess and intervene for remediation and/or management of mental health symptoms across all populations served. Integration of cultural sensitivity and family involvement are part of treatment to enhance success. Each patient has individual needs and goals which are the priority of treatment. PBHM will assess and treat in a compassionate manner. Services are designed to help patients' transition into a less restrictive environment as they complete their goals.
By enhancing the connection with CHI St. Vincent hospitals and clinics to the statewide HIE network, which will include bi-directional data exchange, health care providers participating in the clinically integrated network and referral partnerships will have faster and more complete access to their patients’ most critical health information. The enhanced information access will improve patients’ care coordination, reduce treatment delays, eliminate unnecessary testing and allow care providers to make more targeted diagnoses and treatment recommendations.
CHI St. Vincent, a regional health network serving Arkansas, is part of Catholic Health Initiatives. We have served Arkansas since 1888 with a history of many firsts. Headquartered in Little Rock, our networks include primary care, specialty clinics, urgent care, hospitals, home health, rehabilitation and surgery centers. Together with more than 4,500 coworkers, 1,000 medical staff, and 500 volunteers, we consistently receive praise for advancements in care. Our growing Medical Group includes more than 300 providers across almost every medical and surgical specialty.
Medical Center of South Arkansas is your community healthcare provider, a 166-bed general acute care facility accredited by The Joint Commission. Medical Center of South Arkansas also provides stellar cardiac care in our accredited Chest Pain Center and is equipped to offer neonatal specialty care. We believe in the power of people to create great care. We’re more than 100 healthcare professionals strong. And we work hard every day to be a place of healing, caring and connection for patients and families in the community we call home.

The DHS PASSE program concept aims to reengage members into the care delivery system and ensure the access to care, regardless of socioeconomic or physical disposition. The state vision to mandate Care Coordination for the intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and serious and persistent mental illness (SPMI) population ratio at 1:50 with the program being statewide required PASSEs to expand their innovations to support and track member navigation needs statewide.
Based on the requirements, FOREVERCARE model would leverage and employ field based Community Health Workers (CHWs) in a 50:1 ratio with hand held personal devices to automatically track and document events with reporting into FOREVERCARE’s central office. FOREVERCARE would deploy a registry or virtual care navigation tools.

The results in fact were not surprising as many care transition programs around the country have experienced similar results.
Eric Yoder, MD is a seasoned healthcare executive and consultant with over 30 years of experience in managed care and Medicaid. He is currently a private consultant primarily to Medicaid health plans large and small and Medicaid adjacent businesses specializing in business development, clinical program optimization, LTSS programs, clinical and behavioral health integration and quality improvement.
Carolyn Thomas Morris, Ph.D., is of the Red Streak Clan and born for Tangle People, and was born and raised near Shiprock, New Mexico, on the Navajo Nation. Dr. Morris is a licensed Psychologist, and nationally she is one of the few practicing psychologists fluent in the Navajo language. She is a consultant in the public sector health plan market (Medicaid/Medicare), specializing in plan/program development, clinical oversight and care coordination, reducing health disparities and improving population health. She also continues to provide direct patient care in community behavioral health, primary care, and geriatric settings. Dr. Morris serves on the Navajo Technical University Board of Regents and holds an elected position representing the Navajo Nation with the Association of Community College Trustees.
Mike McCabe, Plan President of FOREVERCARE is a tenured healthcare professional whose passion for the industry has fostered his deep passion and immersion in Healthcare delivery for over 25 years.
About State Health Alliance for Records Exchange (SHARE): SHARE is Arkansas’ statewide Health Information Exchange (HIE), which is operated by the Office of Health Information Technology (OHIT) at the Arkansas Department of Health.
Justin Villines, HIT Policy Integrator/Senior Operations Manager
Anne Santifer, Executive Director
Adrian Jones, Account Manager