As Healthy Connections closes out 2025, the organization does so with confidence, clarity, and momentum. After years of steady growth and transformation, leadership sees the coming years not as a pause—but as an opportunity.
“So I think there’s some exciting times coming,” said CEO Tony Calandro. “I know that we’ve seen some transformation over the last, we’ll call it the last five years. I think the next three to five years will prove to be just as exciting as the five years prior to.”
That optimism is grounded in experience. It reflects an organization that has grown deliberately, adapted to a changing healthcare landscape, and remained focused on what matters most: sustainable access to high-quality, community-based care for thousands of families across Arkansas.
From Two Clinics to a Statewide Presence
When Calandro joined Healthy Connections fifteen years ago, the organization looked very different.
“When I started, it was 15 years in October, we only had two clinics,” he said. “We had the major clinic, our flagship operation in Mena… and our small office in Mount Ida. Even more interesting, we only had like 34–35 full-time employees at the time.”
Today, Healthy Connections operates 20 clinics across Arkansas, serving communities from Russellville to Texarkana, including Little Rock, with well over 250 employees. The flagship Mena clinic has expanded to more than 26,000 square feet, reflecting not only growth, but permanence.
But growth was never the objective by itself.
“The key was success and long-term sustainability,” Calandro said. “I wanted to make sure that what we put into place was going to be here for quite some time.”
How Healthy Connections Grows—On Purpose
From the beginning, expansion was intentional rather than rapid.
“It was slow,” Calandro said. “It was more about trying to make our way, find the right components for us to grow, find the right geographical areas, the cities that were welcoming enough for us to be part of.”
That approach continues today. Healthy Connections is always looking for opportunities—but only where the organization can make a meaningful, long-term difference.
“For us, it was about making a difference,” Calandro said. “Where could we open a clinic, bring the right people on board, create something that not just the company would be proud of, but the community would be proud of?”
A Look Back at 2025: Turning Strategy into Action
While 2025 was a year focused on strengthening the foundation for future growth, it was also marked by visible progress and meaningful impact across care delivery, community engagement, and organizational infrastructure.
One of the most prominent community efforts came through the THV11 Summer Cereal Drive, a statewide initiative benefiting the Arkansas Foodbank. Healthy Connections’ participation reinforced the organization’s belief that health extends beyond clinic walls—recognizing that food security, stability, and community support are essential to long-term health outcomes.
In January, Healthy Connections also launched a new organizational website along with the Horizons Health Blog, creating a centralized, accessible platform for patients and communities to find accurate health information, service updates, and educational content. The launch strengthened the organization’s digital presence while supporting transparency and health literacy.
Throughout the year, Healthy Connections led major public health campaigns focused on Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) and HIV services, emphasizing education, access, and judgment-free care. These efforts reinforced the organization’s role as a trusted provider for services that are often underserved or stigmatized.
Access to care expanded geographically as well, with new clinics opening in Bryant and Conway, extending Healthy Connections’ footprint into growing communities while maintaining a consistent, patient-centered approach.
The organization also brought back podiatry services, restoring access to specialized foot and ankle care—an important service for patients managing chronic conditions such as diabetes.
Additionally, 2025 marked a major operational milestone as Healthy Connections took over the pharmacy located inside the Mena clinic, bringing pharmacy services fully under organizational oversight. This transition allowed for closer alignment between providers and pharmacists and supported expanded pharmacy services across the organization’s footprint—laying the groundwork for a more connected pharmacy model.
In the fall, Healthy Connections expanded its storytelling and outreach efforts with the launch of its first podcast, Connected With Marisol. The podcast provided a new way to highlight providers, services, and community conversations, reaching audiences across platforms including Facebook, YouTube Podcasts, and Spotify.
Together, these efforts reflected a year focused not on growth for growth’s sake, but on relevance—responding to real community needs while strengthening the organization’s ability to communicate, connect, and prepare for what comes next.
Where Healthy Connections Is Today
As a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC), Healthy Connections plays a critical role in expanding access to care across Arkansas. Clinics accept Medicaid and Medicare and offer a sliding fee scale for qualifying patients, ensuring care remains accessible regardless of insurance status.
“The nice thing is, from our standpoint as a federally qualified health care center, we have the benefit of being able to support all and any patients, whether they have insurance or not,” Calandro said.
That access is paired with adaptability—an essential trait in a constantly evolving healthcare environment.
“The landscape is constantly changing,” he said. “It’s not just every four years. It’s a pretty constant change.”
Rather than depending on any single service line or funding source, Healthy Connections focuses on flexibility and sustainability—adjusting services and strategies as needs, policies, and communities evolve.
Integrated Care Across the Full Cycle of Life
One of the organization’s defining strengths is its integrated care model, designed to serve individuals and families across every stage of life.
“We kind of covered the whole cycle of life,” Calandro said. “You’ve got primary care for adults, Ob-Gyn can deliver the babies, pediatrics for the kids, dental, behavioral health, back to primary care again.”
Integrated care means communication, coordination, and connection across medical, dental, behavioral health, and pharmacy teams—reducing gaps in care and improving outcomes.
“Recognizing that when we have patients, they usually come with families,” Calandro said. “We’re here to deliver care and not necessarily to just one group.”
Behavioral health, in particular, has become a critical focus.
“I think that everybody saw that during Covid behavioral health became a top service for everybody,” Calandro said. “There was a significant need. We might not have realized it before. We definitely realize it since.”
Bringing Care Closer to Home
Geography plays a significant role in access to care—especially in rural Arkansas.
“When you look at Mena, it’s an hour and a half from just about everywhere,” Calandro said. “But when you talk to the patients, they don’t really want to drive an hour and a half to go have services delivered.”
That reality shaped Healthy Connections’ approach: expanding in-house services and reducing the need for patients to travel long distances. Leadership continues to explore additional ways to reach underserved areas, including the potential for a mobile unit in the future. Details are still being evaluated.
Pharmacy Expansion and Better Coordination
Pharmacy services have become an increasingly important part of the integrated care model.
“It’s important enough for our patients to have access to pharmacy services,” Calandro said.
Following the transition of the Mena pharmacy, Healthy Connections expanded pharmacy services across its footprint and began planning for both physical pharmacy locations open to the public and delivery-based pharmacy services designed to support clinic patients.
“I think having the pharmacist go out and visit directly with all of our providers… has been invaluable,” Calandro said. “It not only helps our providers, but it also helps our patients.”
Looking Ahead to 2026
As Healthy Connections moves into 2026, the focus remains on strategic, patient-centered growth.
One of the most anticipated additions is a men’s health program, modeled after the success of women’s health services.
“The expectation is we want to do the exact same thing with the men’s health program,” Calandro said. “Some great, creative work around that one… I think people are going to be surprised.”
Additional plans include continued pharmacy expansion, growth in infectious disease services, and broader outreach efforts.
“We’re not going to get bored,” Calandro said. “We’re going to have a lot of new things coming out.”
A Forward-Looking Close
For employees, patients, and communities alike, Healthy Connections enters its next chapter grounded in experience and guided by sustainability.
“The hard work of all of our employees is appreciated,” Calandro said. The organization’s culture continues to be shaped by collaboration across disciplines—providers, pharmacists, behavioral health teams, and staff working together to deliver coordinated, patient-centered care.
“I think the next three to five years will prove to be just as exciting as the five years prior,” Calandro said.
As 2025 comes to a close, Healthy Connections is not slowing down. It is moving forward—deliberately, flexibly, and with purpose—ready for what comes next.
To learn more about services available in your community, visit www.healthy-connections.org.
