Arkansas Children's Care Network  (ACCN)

Who is the Arkansas Children's Care Network (ACCN)?

ACCN is the nation's first statewide pediatric clinically integrated network (CIN) led by a physician-majority board that includes providers in multiple specialties from around the state of Arkansas. The ACCN blends the insight of pediatric experts with a robust technology platform to support improved population health through the development of clinical pathways, sharing of patient information and monitoring of performance. As part of ACCN, pediatricians, family practice providers, specialists and advanced practitioners come together to help measurably elevate health care quality for children in Arkansas. As of 2026, ACCN's network currently includes over 200 primary care providers and nearly 800 pediatric specialists and over 235,000 patients.

What is a Clinically Integrated Network?

A CIN is a network of healthcare providers formally aligned to enhance the value of the care provided by the participating providers. CINs allow providers to keep their independence while coming together to jointly contract, deliver care and demonstrate value to payors, employers and individuals seeking value-based care.

Why is ACCN important for kids and families?

ACCN is changing how children across Arkansas get healthcare by connecting all doctors treating the same child. That includes a child's main doctor and any specialists. They work together to give the best care.

Being connected through ACCN means:

• Better, more timely care
• The best care close to home when possible
• Better health for Arkansas children at lower cost

Why should pediatric providers join ACCN?

Healthcare is shifting towards a focus on population health and value-based care. In Arkansas, most children have an insurance plan that offers incentives to providers for achieving quality goals. Joining ACCN provides opportunity for participation in additional pediatric-focused value-based programs and opens the door to a network of information and resources to help decrease the administrative burden and cost required to participate in these programs successfully, including:

• Care management services tailored to meet the needs of your practice
• Dashboards for tracking performance in value-based programs and related metrics and identification of care gaps
• Value-based program workflow and coding analysis consulting

By joining ACCN, providers align themselves with a group that focuses on improving the quality of their care and shaping the future of value-based programs in the market. The combined negotiating power of the network results in a voice in contracting discussions with insurers that is used to advocate for programs that focus on meaningful, pediatric-specific metrics, access to better data on performance, and funding for quality-focused special programs that address the unmet needs of patients.

ACCN currently allows physicians and advance practice providers who treat pediatric patients to join the network. There is no cost to joining ACCN.

Why should payers partner with us?

As a statewide network, partnering with ACCN increases a payer's reach for value-based care for pediatric patients. ACCN contracts on behalf of its network for value-based care, providing opportunity for improved outcomes for patients across Arkansas. ACCN has extensive experience in care management and care coordination for complex pediatric patients, with success in improving value and decreasing costs while improving overall population health.

• Kassia Sherrill, MSN, RN, CPN – Manager, Care Management
• Elizabeth Cohen, MHA, CPC – Manager, Business Operations
• Romi Wang, MBA – Manager, Data Analytics
• LeCole Barnes, MSE, MSW, LCSW – Manager, Public Health Programs