AUGUSTA - ARcare, a federally qualified healthcare center with primary care and behavioral health clinics in rural Arkansas, Mississippi and Kentucky, is the newest member of the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation's national network of addiction treatment providers.

As a federally qualified health center (FQHC), ARcare utilizes government funds to provide quality services in underserved areas regardless of patients' ability to pay. It has been operating for 35 years, employs 800 people, and has six behavioral health clinics in addition to more than four dozen primary care clinics. In recent years, Hazelden Betty Ford has supported ARcare's implementation of new opioid addiction treatment protocols and its integration of peer recovery specialists at primary care sites to support patients' recovery management. Headquartered in Augusta, Ark., ARcare is the second FQHC to join the Hazelden Betty Ford Patient Care Network, a growing group of organizations from across the nation working together to share knowledge and best practices, extend the continuum of care, and improve quality and outcomes for their patients.