Press Release
For Immediate Release
Arkansas Behavioral Health Integration Network Awarded Funding to Develop a Patient-Centered Research Network focused on Behavioral Health Integration
Eureka Springs, Arkansas – July 15, 2025
We are pleased to announce Arkansas Behavioral Health Integration Network has been approved for a funding award through the Eugene Washington PCORI Engagement Award Program, an initiative of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI). The funds will support establishing a state-wide learning collaborative that elevates the voices of peers in behavioral health integration (BHI) research and builds capacity for new research partnerships.
Kim Shuler, LCSW and Megan Copeland, NCPRSS will co-lead the engagement project at ABHIN. The project will focus on building infrastructure for a statewide learning collaborative and providing research training to peers, community-based clinicians and researchers in engaged research methods. Participants will also work together to review existing research on behavioral health integration, identify gaps and areas of need, and develop new research priorities for focus.
“By investing in peer-led research and collaborative learning, we are laying the foundation for behavioral health integration research efforts that are truly informed by the people they are meant to serve,” said Kim Shuler, LCSW. “This work allows us to make sure those voices are heard,” added Megan Copeland, NCPRSS.
The Arkansas Behavioral Health Integration Research Partnership is part of a portfolio of projects funded by PCORI to help develop a community of patients, caregivers, clinicians and other stakeholders who are better equipped to engage as partners in all phases of patient-centered comparative clinical effectiveness research (CER) and to disseminate results of PCORI-funded studies. Through its Engagement Award Program, PCORI is creating an expansive network of individuals, communities and organizations who can leverage their lived experience and expertise to influence research to be more patient-centered, relevant and useful.
PCORI is a nonprofit organization with a mission to fund research that will provide patients, their caregivers, and clinicians with the evidence-based information that is needed to make better-informed health care decisions. For more information about ABHIN and its work to strengthen behavioral health integration across Arkansas, please visit www.abhinetwork.org
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Contact:
Kim Shuler, LCSW
Chief Executive Officer, ABHIN
Email: kim.shuler@abhinetwork.org
Phone: (479) 871-3611
About ABHIN
ABHIN is a nonprofit organization founded in 2019 with the mission of integrating behavioral healthcare into the healthcare continuum to improve accessibility, especially in underserved rural areas. Through partnerships, education, and innovative programming, ABHIN is leading the charge to create healthier communities across Arkansas.
