Mental Health Experts Discuss Improving the System of Treatment in Arkansas

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Justin Hunt and Joy Figarsky

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Justin Hunt and Joy Figarsky, two experts in the field of mental health, will discuss the current transformation in the treatment of the mentally ill in Arkansas. Their presentation, “Patient-Centered Care through Health Homes,” will be held at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 30 in the Hembree Room of the Willard J. Walker Hall. It is free and the public is invited.

The event is a part of the University of Arkansas One Book, One Community project, which is organized this year around Pete Earley’s investigation of the mental health system in America, Crazy: A Father's Search Through America's Mental Health Madness.

Justin Hunt is a psychiatrist and mental health researcher. He recently re-joined the faculty at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. He is serving as medical director of the Comprehensive Diagnostic Service for the Psychiatric Research Institute.  

Joy Figarsky is the new director of the Division of Behavioral Health Services in the Arkansas Department of Human Services.

“Arkansas is working to improve the health care system beyond simply expanding health insurance coverage,” said Hunt. “The Arkansas Payment Improvement Initiative aims to move away from the current system, which often led to fragmented and sometimes excessive care, to a system that rewards quality outcomes and coordinated care. In mental health, this includes developing ‘health homes’ that will coordinate care and eliminate the current fragmented system. Providers will be financially rewarded for coordinating patients' care in this new system.”