Arkansas Lost 8 Labor & Delivery Units Since 2020
Eight labor and delivery units have closed across Arkansas since 2020, leaving only 31 delivering hospitals spread across 22 of the state’s 75 counties. New data from the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement (ACHI), a nonpartisan health research organization, shows that in 2024, 29% of pregnant Arkansans traveled more than 30 minutes to give birth. Eight percent traveled more than an hour.
29% of pregnant Arkansans traveled more than 30 minutes to give birth in 2024, up from a median statewide drive time that masks county-level spikes of 10 minutes or more.
The statewide median drive time of 16 minutes has held steady between 2022 and 2024, but that number conceals sharp increases in specific counties. Ashley County saw the worst deterioration: its median drive time jumped from 16 minutes in 2022 to 48 minutes in 2024 after the county’s labor and delivery unit closed in 2023. Jackson County’s median rose from 20 to 35 minutes over the same period after its unit also closed.
Longer Drives Translate Directly to Higher Medical Risk
Distance from a delivering hospital is not an inconvenience. A 2022 study from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists found that longer travel times increase the risk of health complications for both mothers and newborns. Arkansas already ranks among the nation’s highest for maternal and infant mortality, according to ACHI data.
The closure of Ashley County’s unit has downstream effects on neighboring Chicot County, where some residents’ nearest delivering hospital is now in Greenville, Mississippi, up to 40 miles away. The local facility in Lake Village can handle emergencies but does not operate a full labor and delivery unit. Cleveland County, with fewer than 8,000 residents, has no hospital at all and has now lost access to units in both neighboring Ashley and Bradley counties.
“It’d be great if the state would offer some type of help for the rural areas, especially the low-income areas in the south, like we are. We seem to be kind of forgotten sometimes.”
Tom Mosley, County Judge, Chicot County, Arkansas, June 2026
The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences announced in 2025 that it would use a $4 million federal grant to expand obstetric services in south Arkansas, including Ashley County. That expansion is scheduled to begin this year, but a full labor and delivery unit has not yet been restored.
What You Can Do Now
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Call your Arkansas state legislators at the Arkansas State Legislature switchboard, (501) 682-2902, and ask them to fund a rural obstetric access program. Cite the ACHI report: 8 units closed since 2020, 29% of mothers now travel more than 30 minutes.
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Contact Governor Sarah Huckaby Sanders’ office at (501) 682-2345 and urge her to direct the Arkansas Department of Health to publish a maternal access emergency plan. Ashley County went from a 16-minute to a 48-minute median drive in two years.
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Find and contact your county judge using the Association of Arkansas Counties directory. County judges have authority to advocate for hospital district funding. Ask them to formally request state rural health infrastructure support.
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Submit a public comment to ACHI at achi.net with your own experience accessing maternal care. ACHI uses public testimony to brief Arkansas legislators and health planners on service gaps.
Sources
- Drive time to Arkansas hospitals for labor and delivery getting longer, report shows — Arkansas Advocate (2026-06-22)
Arkansas Advocate: Drive Times to Arkansas Labor & Delivery Hospitals Growing Longer Arkansas Center for Health Improvement: Maternal Travel Time Data Report 2024 American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists: 2022 Study on Travel Time and Maternal Outcomes University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences: $4 Million Federal Grant for South Arkansas Obstetric Expansion Association of Arkansas Counties: County Judge Directory