Neighbors Helping Neighbors: The Story of 1st Choice Healthcare
- Katrina Dupins
- 1 hour ago
- 2 min read
When the hospital in Corning, Arkansas closed its doors in 1990, a community refused to go without. A group of neighbors led by Brigitte McDonald, a former employee of the hospital, wrote a grant, applied for a federally qualified health center designation, and got to work. 1st Choice Healthcare opened in 1994. McDonald has been there every year since. She serves as the health center’s Chief Executive Officer.
“Thirty-two years later, what started as one clinic in one small town has grown into six locations across northeast Arkansas, with a seventh on the way. The mission has never changed: see everyone, regardless of ability to pay,” McDonald said. “It's neighbors helping neighbors. We want to make sure that everyone gets the health care that they deserve."
Many of the providers who deliver that care grew up in the communities they now serve. Dr. Brooke Miller is a product of rural Arkansas who practices at the Highland Clinic. Dr. Spencer Hart returned to the town where he was born and raised. Dr. Murphy has been seeing patients in Pocahontas, including children he watched grow up, who now bring their own kids, for 16 years.
Clinical Supervisor Kelly Lamb decided she wanted to become a nurse after losing her father and has spent a decade making sure her patients felt well taken care of.
"First Choice took a chance on me when I was very young," she said. "I feel like I've gotten to make a difference for a lot of patients."
1st Choice Healthcare also has a mobile unit that travels to underserved communities, and soon to a factory in Jonesboro where shift workers can’t always find time to get off to see a provider.
"We're a complete doctor's office on wheels," said Jamie Gosha, LPN.
For First Choice's Spanish-speaking patients, Norma Obregon has spent 11 years making sure patients feel heard and understood.
As the clinic's Spanish Medical Interpreter and Referral Coordinator, Norma Obregon bridges the gap between providers and a community that might otherwise struggle to understand and be understood. "When they know there's somebody who speaks their language, there's no barrier," she says. "I see it on their faces, that relief that there's somebody there for them."
1st Choice Healthcare is bringing quality, affordable care closer to home for Piggott residents with the opening of a new clinic at 1311 E Main Street.
The new location will mark the federally qualified health center's 7th site, joining existing clinics in Pocahontas, Salem, Walnut Ridge, Corning, Highland, and Paragould.
Planning is still in the early stages, and organizers hope the clinic will be open in Fall 2026. As they prepare to open their doors, they’re looking for dedicated healthcare professionals and support staff who are passionate about community-centered care.
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