Project Impacts:
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Providing services to over 200 Low-Income people which includes 180 children with special needs that currently have very limited options for care in their community.
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Creating 90 new full-time employment job opportunities for local residents and graduates from Ouachita Baptist University with salaries at or above a living wage.
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Of the jobs created, the project anticipates that 70% of the opportunities will be accessible to Low-Income People and 28% of the opportunities filled by minorities.
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Providing crucial healthcare services to children within a Federal Medically Underserved Community.
PARTNERS:
NCIF: $6.5 million NMTC allocation; $1.5 million in debt
CDFI Partner: Southern Bancorp Bank
Pediatrics Plus is a healthcare provider created in 2002 that specializes in early intervention for children with special needs and behavioral delays. Pediatrics Plus currently has 5 locations throughout Arkansas and Texas and this new project funded by NCIF and Southern Bancorp will create the 6th location in a Non-Metro community in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. Services provided include occupational, physical, speech, and developmental therapies, as well as behavioral analysis, parent training and education.
The Project is located on the Ouachita Baptist University (OBU) campus in Arkadelphia, AR and will develop a new 20,000 sq. ft. facility. The facility will provide behavioral health services to over 200 low-income individuals which includes 180 children of which, 75% are eligible for the Arkids First State Medicaid Program. Additionally, the project will create opportunities for education, job creation in partnership with OBU which is adding a new graduate level program for Advanced Behavioral Analysis (ABA) to train therapists to be employed by Pediatrics Plus and similar providers.