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Board tables Wellpath request for provisional license under Act 971 pending federal designation paperwork
Summary
Wellpath representatives and an applicant sought a provisional licensure route for work in correctional facilities under Act 971. The board asked for federal 'medically underserved' designation documentation and tabled the request to allow legal review.
Wellpath representatives asked the Arkansas State Medical Board to approve a provisional licensure pathway under Act 971 for a psychiatrist to practice full time in an Arkansas Department of Corrections facility. The applicant, introduced as a candidate for a position at Ouachita River Correctional Unit in Malvern, said the role would provide on-site psychiatric evaluations and care for the incarcerated population.
Board members questioned whether an incarcerated population qualifies as a federally-designated "medically underserved" area under the statute. Michael Lewis of the attorney general's office advised the board that the statute hinges on a federal designation made by the secretary of health; he offered to assist in locating relevant documentation. Wellpath's regional vice president, Donna Gordon Buie, said the organization qualifies for federal HRSA loan-reimbursement programs and that recruitment for corrections is challenging.
The board asked Wellpath to provide federal designation documentation and legal analysis showing how the prison site meets Act 971 criteria. Without that evidence the board said it could not proceed; a motion to table the request was made and carried.
What happens next: Wellpath was asked to supply documentation (designation by the appropriate federal secretary or equivalent evidence). Legal review by both the board staff and the attorney general's office was requested before the board will reconsider the provisional license request.
