Speakers: Joe Thompson, MD, MPH

This session explores key trends at the intersection of behavioral health, policy, and public health in Arkansas. Dr. Joseph Thompson, President Emeritus of the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement, presents recent data analyses and policy insights on three timely issues: the rising rates of acute behavioral health crises among perinatal and postnatal women; the growing influence of social media on youth mental health; and the evolving use of medical marijuana as a therapeutic option. The talk aims to equip healthcare leaders with data-driven knowledge to inform clinical strategies and policy responses.

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Joseph W. Thompson, MD, MPH, President Emeritus, Arkansas Center for Health Improvement (ACHI), Professor of Medicine and Public Health, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences

Dr. Joe Thompson is a nationally recognized leader in the quality and financing of health care, public health improvement, and strategic responses to public health threats. As ACHI’s president emeritus, he leads innovative efforts to address emerging and legacy health issues through individual choice and influential policy.

With funding through a National Science Foundation Engines Development Award, Thompson is leading a partnership in the Mississippi Delta regions of Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana to develop a proposal for an innovative initiative to transform one of America’s most disenfranchised areas into a thriving, diversified, and integrated economic driver. He is also co-principal investigator on a first-of-its-kind study, funded by the National Institutes of Health, to assess the impact of medical marijuana on Arkansans.

Thompson has led vanguard state and national efforts in healthcare financing reform, health promotion and disease prevention efforts focused on health threats from tobacco and obesity, and emergency response efforts during periods of crisis. As Arkansas’s inaugural surgeon general, he served in the administrations of Mike Huckabee (R) and Mike Beebe (D).