President, CEO & Founder of the Arkansas Rural Health Partnership
Regional Director in the UAMS Officer of Strategy, Management, & Administration
Executive Director, Rural Health Association of Arkansas
Ms. Mellie Boagni currently serves as the CEO, President, & Founder of the Arkansas Rural Health Partnership and as the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Regional Director of Strategy, Management, and Administration with over 22 years of experience in community and organizational networking, grant writing, and program development and implementation. Mellie founded the Arkansas Rural Health Partnership organization in 2008 which began with five critical access hospitals and has grown its membership to include 16 rural hospitals, 2 FQHCs, 92 owned and/or affiliated clinics, and three medical schools which serves the south Arkansas region. Mellie has obtained over $42 million dollars in grant funds for Arkansas Rural Health Partnership to implement healthcare provide training opportunities, healthcare workforce initiatives, chronic disease programs, behavioral and mental health services, and improved access to care throughout the Arkansas Delta region and beyond.
Ms. Boagni recently served on the National Rural Health Association Congress and graduated in 2019 from the NRHA Rural Fellows Program. She also currently serves on the board of the National Cooperative of Health Networks Association, Delta Region Community Health Systems Development Advisory Committee, the NRHA Rural Community Health Initiatives workgroup, and as Executive Director and founding member of the Rural Health Association of Arkansas, Arkansas’ state rural health organization. In 2016, Ms. Boagni Bridewell was acknowledged as a Federal Office of Rural Health’s Rural Health Champion and in 2020 was awarded the Healthcare Heroes Innovation award by Arkansas Business magazine and one of Arkansas’ Most Powerful Women of 2020 by Arkansas Business and Politics. In 2021, Ms. Boagni Bridewell was recognized as one of 250 of Arkansas’ Most Influential People.
Under Mellie’s leadership, ARHP has been recognized nationally as a Rural Health Community Champion for Collaborative Partnerships by the Federal Office of Rural Health and as Outstanding Network of the Year by the National Cooperative of Health Networks Association. Mellie was appointed to the Arkansas Department of Health Board of Directors in 2021 and as a Commissioner on Arkansas’ Women’s Commission in 2022. This year, she has been named one of 100 Women of Impact in the state of Arkansas by the Women’s Foundation of Arkansas and Little Rock Soiree magazine.
Mellie Boagni - Contact
Email: Mellie@arruralhealth.org; MBBridewell@uams.edu
Ph: 870-265-6553
