Helena Health Foundation takes reins at Helena Regional

Helena Health Foundation is taking reins at Helena Regional, putting Phillips County’s main hospital closer to the foundation that has long backed health care in Helena-West Helena. Helena Regional Medical Center, listed by the Phillips County Chamber of Commerce at 1801 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, is described in chamber materials as a 155-bed, Joint Commission-accredited community hospital, and one listing describes it as a rural emergency hospital facility.

For patients, employees and emergency crews, the change matters because Helena Regional is part of the county’s basic infrastructure, not just another office building on the map. The foundation says its mission is to support and improve the public well-being and quality of life in Phillips County, especially in health care matters, and that it awards grants for a wide range of charitable health care activities. It also says its primary focus is helping the county’s ever-increasing indigent and aged population.

The foundation already has a visible footprint in local health care. Its about page says it built a $4.2 million, 31,000-square-foot Wellness Center in Helena-West Helena, completed and dedicated in 2006. The foundation owns the building and leases it to UAMS East under a long-term agreement for health, wellness and fitness programs in Phillips County and surrounding counties.

That physical cluster on Highway 242 shows how closely the county’s health network is tied together. UAMS Health lists Family Medical Center in Helena at 1393 Highway 242 South, just next to the Helena Health Foundation’s address at 1395 Highway 242 South. The foundation’s offices are in the same building complex as the services it helps support, reinforcing its role as both landlord and local health benefactor.

Ed Pat Wright, the foundation’s board chair, said it is paramount that the Helena Health Foundation continues to fund worthy projects in Phillips County while maintaining good stewardship of the funds entrusted in its care. He said the foundation does that by thoroughly vetting 501(c)(3) grantees. The board also includes Jimmy Lou Brandon, Stephenie A. Cooke and Larry Denson.

The foundation’s reach has extended beyond Helena before. In November 2024, UAMS received a Helena Health Foundation grant to support solid organ transplants in the Arkansas Delta, a sign that the organization is already funding care beyond a single building or one line item in a hospital budget. In Phillips County, where reliable care close to home affects family stability and public health, the foundation’s deeper role at Helena Regional now carries direct weight for the county’s future.