Craig Wilson is the president and CEO of the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement, a nonpartisan, independent health policy organization that serves as a catalyst to improve the health of Arkansans. He joined ACHI as director of health policy and served as interim president and CEO from January 2025 until he was named the center’s permanent leader in October.
Wilson holds a bachelor’s from Lyon College in Batesville, a Juris Doctor from the Georgia State University College of Law, and a master’s from the Georgia State University Andrew Young School of Policy Studies in Atlanta.
Wilson joined ACHI in 2011.
How has ACHI’s approach changed as a growing group of people and policymakers take more aggressive stances against long-established public health recommendations?
As an organization dedicated to making positive change happen, we must remain nimble in our approach to achieving that goal as the environment shifts. ACHI continues to focus on unique contributions, which evolve with new leadership styles, staff capabilities and emerging challenges and opportunities. Fortunately, the blocking and tackling of advancing good health policy remain the same — relying on solid evidence, working with partners and humanizing the need.
How can Arkansas improve health outcomes in rural Arkansas?
We must first recognize that rural areas are different, so the solutions to improve health might be different. Rural areas frequently lack health care infrastructure and are challenged to recruit and retain health care providers, while some residents may have limited access to transportation. Rural Arkansans are also generally older, have higher rates of chronic disease and rely more on public coverage such as Medicaid or Medicare. Solutions that address these differences and build upon positive qualities in our state’s rural areas, such as higher levels of trust, familiarity and community-based approaches (e.g., community health workers), are more likely to succeed.
What can Arkansas do to strengthen its rural hospitals?
Embracing a regional mindset is key. Most of our rural hospitals were built at a time when inpatient care was required for many procedures that can now be provided on an outpatient basis. Hospitals and community-based providers will need to band together regionally to increase efficiency of care delivery, invest in shared technology and other services, and address widespread effects of food insecurity, social isolation and substandard housing that lead to poor health outcomes.
What are the biggest barriers to improving health care in Arkansas?
Despite a considerable reduction in Arkansas’ uninsured rate over the last decade, many Arkansans still have limited access to the services they need. Many initiatives to address workforce supply are ongoing, but it remains a challenge to get providers into communities where gaps in care exist. Arkansas is also well above the national average in rates of obesity and tobacco use. These factors not only affect individual health and well-being, but also place an enormous burden on the state’s health care system and undermine economic productivity. Finally, there is growing consensus that social needs such as housing and food insecurity impact health, but the partnerships, technologies and financing models must catch up.
What do you hope ACHI accomplishes in 2026?
I want to build on our data assets and analytic capacity, not only to help us provide actionable and timely insights and inform policymakers at the individual, institutional and governmental levels, but also to support collaborative research efforts, quality improvement initiatives, and evaluation of system performance. During my interim period in this role, I formalized agreements with multiple research partners across the state that we will operationalize, enabling new and exciting potential for interdisciplinary collaborations that can help improve health outcomes in Arkansas.
What do you like most about being the head of ACHI?
I enjoy leading a team of creative and inspired people and working with partners who share a commitment to ensuring Arkansans can thrive in their health and well-being. Plus, I get to work every day to make my native state a healthier place to live.
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