CVS bringing ‘telehealth’ virtual medical visits to Arkansas
LITTLE ROCK — CVS Health, the largest pharmacy health care provider in the United States, announced Wednesday that MinuteClinic, the company’s retail medical clinic, has rolled out its virtual visit offering in eight additional states, including Arkansas.
The service makes healthcare professionals available 24 hours a day through the CVS Pharmacy app and online. CVS said the service is now available in 26 states with the recent additions of Arkansas, Connecticut, Hawaii, Indiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas.
“We’re excited to continue to expand the availability of MinuteClinic Video Visits across eight additional states as we continue to build our national practice for this service,” MinuteClinic President Sharon Vitti said in a statement. “The expansion of this MinuteClinic service enables us to provide even more people with access to an innovative, on-demand health care option and demonstrates our commitment to delivering high-quality care when and where our patients need it, at prices they can afford.”
CVS said video visits can be used to provide care for patients ages two years and older who are seeking treatment for a minor illness, minor injury or a skin condition. Each patient will complete a health questionnaire and be matched to a board-certified healthcare provider licensed in their state, who will review the completed questionnaire with the patient’s medical history, and proceed with the video-enabled visit.
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NEWTON COUNTY — A longtime landmark in Newton County known as the Pruitt Bridge is being replaced.
The project is being handled by the Arkansas Department of Transportation along with the National Park Service.
The construction of the bridge began Wednesday.
The bridge is located on Highway 7, about 11 miles south of Harrison and 6 miles north of Jasper. The replacement project will affect the east side of the existing bridge. Part of the project is making sure that the natural resources in the scenic locale are not affected.
Lauren Ray is a park ranger for the buffalo national river, “We’ve consulted with ARDOT, we’ve consulted with the contractor and other area stakeholders… to make sure that we reduce the amount of impacts on natural and cultural resources during this project.”
Construction will affect an area that encompasses a popular swimming hole “While that swimming hole is not actually closed, the access to it is going to be a little bit more limited than usual,” Ray said. “The north and the south banks of the river will be closed during this time.”
The Pruitt Bridge project is expected to be completed in December of 2020.
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Communities to split $1.3 million from grant
LITTLE ROCK — Seven towns in Northeast Arkansas will share more than $1.3 million to improve their communities.
The Arkansas Economic Development Commission awarded the towns of Caraway, Corning, Earle, Osceola, Paragould, Reyno, and Wynne $1,337,492 in Community Development Block Grants.
The money, according to a Thursday news release from the East Arkansas Planning & Development District (EAPDD), will be used as follows: Caraway: $200,000 for the creation of a new well to service the city Corning: $192,500 for drainage improvements Earle: $200,000 for street improvements Osceola: $144,992 for the completion of the renovation of the Coston Building Paragould: $200,000 for renovations to the Mission Outreach homeless shelters Reyno: $200,000 for repainting the city water tower, preserving water quality Wynne: $200,000 for sewer improvements “Any day that over a million dollars are invested in East Arkansas is a great day for EAPDD,” said Melissa Rivers, EAPDD executive director. “My staff and I are excited to get started on these projects so these funds can start impacting the lives of those living in our district.”
