Heartland Whole Health Institute

Explore the intersections of art, nature, and wellness on the Crystal Bridges Campus at this year's Art & Wellness Festival! The theme for 2025, Well Being Here, invites us to reflect not only on the idea of well-being, but on what it means to be truly well—here, in this place, in this moment. The festival features a dynamic mix of free and ticketed talks, workshops, in-gallery and on-trail experiences, and family-friendly engagements led by community partners and leaders in art and wellness. 📆 November 1-3, 2025 Info: https://lnkd.in/gYRiuyrY

What if medical education started with preventing disease, not just treating it? Alice L. Walton School of Medicine is training future physicians to reverse chronic illness and improve rural health through whole-person care, innovation, and community connection. "Tackling chronic disease in rural areas is a critical issue for our country, and our partnership with Stanford includes exploring the use of AI with a goal of providing better access to care in rural America. AWSOM graduates will demonstrate competency in AI through a structured progression of milestones and assessments within the curriculum." Read more: https://lnkd.in/gVGyZARC

Dr. Sarah Bemis, associate vice president of policy and workforce, participated in a distinguished panel hosted by University of Arkansas, Crowder College, University of Central Arkansas, and Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis to explore the evolving dynamics of the health care workforce and pathways for meaningful improvement. The conversation centered on critical issues shaping the future of health care delivery, including the nuanced role of artificial intelligence in clinical and administrative settings, the impact of licensure compacts on workforce mobility, and the imperative for equitable access to specialty care. Panelists also emphasized the power of regional collaboration—particularly across Northwest Arkansas—as a catalyst for innovation, workforce resilience, and improved patient outcomes. Stefanie Pawluk | Jeremy Drinkwitz | Matuschka Lindo Briggs, MBA | Richard Schooler

ArchUp on the new Heartland Whole Health Institute building designed by Marlon Blackwell Architects: "The design succeeds in merging functional health-focused spaces with a cohesive architectural expression, demonstrating how form, materiality, and site can inform contemporary institutional architecture." Read more: https://lnkd.in/gHwDnq4Y

Alex Golden/Axios Northwest Arkansas: Upskill NWA takes students earning less than 80% of the area median income who want to go into professions like nursing, surgical technology or radiologic imaging. The students are typically 24 or older. Application deadlines will now be a few months before classes start, giving Upskill time to prepare students, some of whom have never attended college, president Carol Silva Moralez told Axios. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gdrr9KYw

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art will open its expansion in early June 2026! https://lnkd.in/gzRKiSnP

We want to take a moment to congratulate our newly certified Community Health Workers! CHWs are at the heart of community health – supporting and advocating for Arkansans where they live and work. Certification not only acknowledges their skills and knowledge but also recognizes their deep commitment to the health and well-being of our communities. 

Alice Walton's health care investments such as Alice L. Walton School of Medicine, Heartland Whole Health Institute, and partnerships with Mercy, Cleveland Clinic, and more, are part of her broader vision to reform medical education, expand rural care access, and leverage corporate partnerships to drive systemic change.

Dezeen: "Encompassing 85,000 square feet (7,897 square metres), the building was designed to draw upon its context and integrate with the landscape. Irregular in plan, it has a slender, curvilinear form with forms branching off, seen in a street-facing volume at ground level. The lower portion is covered in giraffe stone, a vernacular style of cladding found in the region. It typically consists of flat-faced field stones of varying sizes that are mortared into place, forming a pattern that resembles a giraffe's hide." Read the full story: https://brnw.ch/21wVhem