Together Arkansas Initiative Relaunches to Empower Recovery-Friendly Workplaces

Arkansas State Chamber, Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Arkansas Opioid Recovery Partnership join forces to empower drug-free workplaces

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (July 1, 2025) — Together Arkansas, an opioid-response initiative that provides free, easy-to-use resources and tools to Arkansas employers to facilitate a drug-free workforce, celebrated its official website relaunch today at Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield’s headquarters in Little Rock, Ark.

“The opioid epidemic continues to be one of the biggest threats to people’s lives and health, their families and loved ones, humanity overall, and it weighs heavily on business and our economy today,” said Curtis Barnett, president and CEO for Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield. “Progress has been made in our state through all of us working together, but providing Arkansas employers with tools to address a problem as pervasive as opioid-use disorder is as important as ever. Helping employees in the workplace break the bonds of addiction to get and stay healthy, keeps them creative, innovative and productive. And that makes Arkansans and this state strong.”

With new online modules and business toolkits, Together Arkansas will help businesses across Arkansas meet the challenges of the opioid crisis and build a safer workplace.

“75 percent of employers report that opioid misuse has impacted their workplace in some way,” said Randy Zook, president and CEO of the Arkansas State Chamber and Associated Industries of Arkansas. “As employers, that’s not a statistic we can afford to ignore. Together Arkansas is a much-needed asset, and we’re confident that it will help business leaders across the state recognize the signs of substance-use disorder, respond to the issue appropriately and retain valuable employees.”

Originally established by the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce and Associated Industries of Arkansas and Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Together Arkansas is also now an initiative of the Arkansas Opioid Recovery Partnership (ARORP), which administers the cities’ and counties’ portion of national opioid settlement dollars.

“Together Arkansas is an excellent resource that will reshape how employers across the state realize and approach substance misuse, recovery and support,” said Kirk Lane, director of the ARORP. “We’re proud to be a contributing player and deeply grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with the Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield and the Arkansas State Chamber to relaunch this initiative and defeat the opioid epidemic.”

Barnett, Zook and Lane were joined by Tenesha Barnes, deputy director of ARORP; Mark Hayes, executive director for the Arkansas Municipal League; Colin Jorgensen, litigation counsel for the Association of Arkansas Counties; Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield employees and ARORP’s partners at the celebratory event.

For more information about Together Arkansas or to utilize its array of resources, visit TogetherArkansas.com.

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About Together Arkansas

Together Arkansas is an opioid-response initiative originally founded by the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce and Associated Industries of Arkansas and the Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield. Now also an initiative of the Arkansas Opioid Recovery Partnership, Together Arkansas aims to provide education and information to Arkansas employers on opioid-related issues and the vital role they can play in achieving a drug-free workplace.