Healthy Connections, Inc., and CEO Tony Calandro have been named finalists in the Arkansas Business 33rd Annual Business of the Year awards.
Healthy Connections, Inc., is a finalist for Nonprofit Organization of the Year, while Calandro is a finalist for Nonprofit Executive of the Year. The winners of each category will be revealed at the awards ceremony on March 3, 2021. Finalists were selected by an outside panel of judges and coordinated by Arkansas Business. Thirty-two finalists are selected from across the state in seven categories. See the complete list of finalists at www.ArkansasBusiness.com/ABOY.
Read the story about Healthy Connections, Inc., in Arkansas Business by clicking this link: https://www.arkansasbusiness.com/events/3/arkansas-business-of-the-year/honorees/792/healthy-connections-inc
Read the story about Calandro in Arkansas Business by clicking this link: https://www.arkansasbusiness.com/events/3/arkansas-business-of-the-year/honorees/795/tony-calandro
Healthy Connections is a Mena-based nonprofit community health network with clinic locations in Mena, Hot Springs, Little Rock, Malvern, Arkadelphia, Mount Ida, and De Queen. Since its founding as a home-visiting program in 1998, Healthy Connections has been able to provide much-needed health, dental, behavioral health, and social services to families of every lifestyle.
Learn more about Healthy Connections at www.healthy-connections.org.
We’re excited to announce our January 2021 Healthy Connections Community Health Network employees of the month:
WEST: TERESA PARKS
EAST: JEREMY PORTER
Each month we ask for employees to be nominated for this award for their exemplification of the Healthy Connections Three Pillars: Excellence, Compassion, and Community. These pillars are considered heavily when choosing winners.
As winners, Teresa and Dr. Porter are winners of a $50 gift card or one day off work.
Teresa works in billing for Healthy Connections. Her co-workers nominated her for this award:
- “She has gone over and above her normal duties in the last few months. She has stepped in and completed not only her work with excellence but has also the work of her coworkers who have been out due to sickness. She is always asking what she can do to help her department. She never seeks recognition for this, but I believe she deserves it for her selfless acts to continually better the billing department and the company.”
- “Teresa is always easy to work with. If you need help understanding a Billing question, she is always ready, willing, and able to help you. She also will find out the answer if she doesn’t know it. AWESOME person to work with.”
- “Teresa is always there to help. Whether it is a question to try and understand billing or to fix a billing problem. She is always nice no matter if she has to go way out of her way to help out. I couldn’t imagine not being able to call someone as knowledgeable as her.”
Dr. Porter works at the Healthy Connections pediatrics clinic in Hot Springs and Malvern. He also sees patients via telehealth at De Queen. His co-workers had this to say about him when nominating:
- “Dr. Porter always has a bright smile on his face and is kind to everyone he encounters. He takes his time with his patients and works hard to ensure he addresses all of their needs and concerns. He works well with his staff, as well as coordinating with other providers for integrated care.”
- “This man is always an example of excellence in patient care. He is compassionate with all of his patients and the staff. He is always available to consult for pediatric patients even if they are not his patients. He always makes the children feel safe.”
- “I work with many of Dr. Porter’s patients and families. They always have wonderful things to say about him as their provider. He takes time to listen to his patients and make sure that he explains things in terms that they can fully understand their condition and treatment. He is always very kind to coworkers and works hard to integrate care for his patients and families by maintaining communication with other providers involved in their care.”
Congratulations to both Teresa and Dr. Porter.
Do you know who should be our next to be recognized? Nominate by visiting www.healthy-connections.org/nominate.
Healthy Connections, Inc., and its CEO Tony Calandro were selected as finalists for the Nonprofit Organization of the Year awards.
Healthy Connections, Inc., and CEO Tony Calandro have been named finalists in the Arkansas Business 33rd Annual Business of the Year awards.
Healthy Connections, Inc., is a finalist for the Nonprofit Organization of the Year, while Calandro is a finalist for the Nonprofit Executive of the Year. The winners of each category will be revealed at the awards ceremony and published in a special supplement of Arkansas Business on March 3, 2021.
Finalists were selected by an outside panel of judges and coordinated by Arkansas Business. Thirty-two finalists are selected from across the state in seven categories. See the complete list of finalists at www.ArkansasBusiness.com/ABOY.
Healthy Connections is a Mena-based nonprofit community health network with clinic locations in Mena, Hot Springs, Little Rock, Malvern, Arkadelphia, Mount Ida, and De Queen. Since its founding as a home-visiting program in 1998, Healthy Connections has been able to provide much-needed health, dental, behavioral health, and social services to families of every lifestyle.
Over the past year, Healthy Connections took its services to more places than ever before. When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, Healthy Connections provided completely-free testing at stops in 10 different Arkansas counties, including some without clinic locations like Texarkana, Gurdon, and Nashville. These day-long events took place in blazing heat and driving rainstorms as employees braved the elements to ensure anyone who wanted to be tested could be tested.
The year also saw an expansion in services with the addition of the Health For Life Clinic and Evolve Behavioral Health and Medication Management. Health For Life Clinic, which provides addiction treatment and testing and treatment for HIV/AIDS patients in Little Rock, joined the community health network in February and has been among the busiest clinics in the network. Evolve brought individual, family, and group mental health therapy to patients across west and central Arkansas just before the pandemic took off.
Cars line up at the mass testing event held in Texarkana in July.
In January, Healthy Connections opened the Franklin Community Health Center in the parking lot of the old Franklin Elementary School in Little Rock. This neighborhood clinic location provided much-requested medical services in a location that was considered a medical desert. And when the pandemic hit, this clinic was at the heart of the Covid-19 testing program.
In May as stay-at-home orders were being issued throughout the state, Healthy Connections quickly expanded its telehealth program to make sure as many patients as possible could be seen from the comfort of their own home.
“We are honored to be recognized alongside the other nonprofit organizations in this category,” Calandro said. “This year has been like no other. Our employees have faced many challenges and consistently found ways to overcome them, ensuring that our patients continue to receive the highest level of care.”
In the Nonprofit Organization of the Year category, Healthy Connections joins Arkansas Research Alliance, Arkansas Immigrant Defense, Children’s Advocacy of Benton County, and The Venture Center as finalists. Healthy Connections was also selected as a finalist in 2018 and 2019.
Calandro joined Healthy Connections 10 years ago and has overseen growth from about 3,000 patients served to more than 23,000 last year.
“I am excited to be a finalist for this award, but know that it would not be possible without the hard work and dedication of our Healthy Connections staff,” Calandro said. “My philosophy has always been to provide employees with the tools and resources they need to do their jobs then stand back and watch them succeed. This award is a reflection of the job they did throughout the past year.”
In the Nonprofit Executive of the Year category, Calandro is joined by Shannon Boshears of UA-Pulaski Technical College Foundation, Wayne Miller of The Venture Center, Christian O’Neal of the UA-Little Rock Foundation, and Fred Scarborough of the Arkansas Children’s Foundation.
Learn more about Healthy Connections at www.healthy-connections.org.
HEALTHY CONNECTIONS, INC. JOINS NATIONWIDE OBSERVANCE OF NATIONAL RURAL HEALTH DAY ON NOVEMBER 19, 2020
Healthy Connections, Inc., is proud to recognize the innovation, quality of care, and dedication of health professionals and volunteers in our community during National Rural Health Day 2020.
National Rural Health Day falls on the third Thursday in November each year and recognizes the efforts of those serving the health needs of an estimated 57 million people across the nation.
“We are proud to recognize our talented team of healthcare workers on National Rural Health Day. They work every day to help keep the communities we serve healthy,” said Tony Calandro, CEO of Healthy Connections, Inc. “Our rural communities are wonderful places to live and work and these small towns are places where people work together to benefit the greater good.”
The Healthy Connections community health network is a federally-qualified health center (FQHC). Healthy Connections and Evolve Behavioral Health both accept Medicaid, ARKids 1st, Medicare, and most private health insurance. There is also a sliding-fee scale for patients without health insurance who qualify. Medicaid patients may be required to switch their primary care provider to Healthy Connections before they can be seen. Learn more about Healthy Connections at www.healthy-connections.org.
A special website (www.PowerofRural.org) has been established for rural health stakeholders to explore a partnership pledge, showcase individuals and organizations selected as 2020 Community Stars, and provide visitors with a variety of tools, including social media posts to help #PowerofRural trend in outlets such as Twitter and Facebook. The website also shares how rural communities across the country will be celebrating National Rural Health Day.
This Thanksgiving Day, we at Healthy Connections give thanks for all of our providers, staff, patients, friends, and families.