A Day with Dr. Joe Thompson, Director, Arkansas Center for Health Improvement
February 28, 2007

Co-sponsored by Ohio Action for Healthy Kids

Dr. Thompson played a key role in the success of his state’s childhood obesity legislation. He traveled to Ohio to share with us his experience working this legislation and promoting health and wellness.

Biography:

Joseph W. Thompson, MD, MPH, Director of Arkansas Center for Health Improvement (ACHI), is an Assistant Professor at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) in the College of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, and the College of Public Health, Departments of Health Policy & Management and Maternal & Child Health. He is a general pediatrician and preventive medicine specialist whose professional activities focus at the interface of policy research and practice. Dr. Thompson has supported the Arkansas Legislature in its deliberations of the Tobacco Settlement proceeds, evaluated the quality of managed care programs serving children in commercial and Medicaid managed care, and conducted research at the state and national levels as the State Children's Health Insurance Programs were deployed. His current activities include general attending responsibilities in the clinic and hospital, population and policy assessments through ACHI and policy-relevant research activities associated with the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).

Dr. Thompson has served as the Principal Investigator on behalf of the state for both the State Planning Grant Program funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration and the State Coverage Initiative Demonstration Grant funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Through these grants, he is leading the development of the state's strategic plan for expanding health insurance coverage. Current activities include expanding the use of health data to inform and improve health policy development at the state and national levels.

He received his BA in Chemistry from Hendrix College, his MD from UAMS, and his MPH from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is a board certified physician in pediatrics and preventive medicine.