Magazine Features ACHI Analysis of Travel Time to Birthing Facilities

Arkansas Family Physician’s Spring 2025 issue, official publication of Arkansas Academy of Family Physicians, An article Highlighting our analysis of delivery facilities for Arkansas mothers.

We reviewed the number of birth events from 2016 to 2022 to estimate how much time the Arkansas mothers have spent traveling to the bracelet facilities. We have found that for more than 73 minutes at the middle of the middle travel hours, it depends on where the mothers live. Long travel hours for delivery facilities are associated with negative maternity and high risk of newborn results.

Our analysis also revealed that the end of hospital labor and delivery services affected the travel hours, in some cases strictly. For example, after the Helna Regional Medical Center’s Labor and Delivery Unit was closed, in 2020, the middle travel time for Philips County Mothers increased from 6 minutes to 51 minutes.

For more information on maternity and newborn health in Arkansas, see our title page.