Arkansas Children’s and the Arkansas Attorney General’s Office are joining forces to address the opioid crisis through the creation of the National Center for Opioid Research & Clinical Effectiveness (NCOR). Construction is underway on the Arkansas Children’s Hospital campus in Little Rock, with the facility set to open in 2027.
The $75 million project, funded by $55 million from state opioid and vaping settlement funds and $20 million from Arkansas Children’s, will focus on how opioid misuse affects the fetus, newborns, developing children and adolescents, as well as pregnant and parenting individuals.
“NCOR will be the first research center of its kind in the country, and the work done here will lead to greater understanding of the impacts of the opioid crisis on unborn babies, newborns, and developing children,” Attorney General Tim Griffin said. “Make no mistake, NCOR will add to Arkansas’s stellar reputation as a national leader in health care and will be a significant center of research not just locally or regionally, but nationally and internationally as well.”
Dr. Alicia Allen, a behavioral epidemiologist and expert in opioid use disorder, has been named director of NCOR. Previously at the University of Arizona, Allen is known for her research on addiction in women of reproductive age and the effects of opioids during the perinatal period.
“The opioid crisis has profoundly impacted Arkansas families, a reality we witness daily across our NICU, clinics and ER,” said Arkansas Children’s President and CEO Marcy Doderer. “By establishing this center, we are boldly advancing a healthier future for children across our region and nation.”
Allen and her team will lead innovative research programs, such as interventions for newborns with neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome, expanding post-birth home-visiting programs and developing game-based tools to prevent adolescent prescription drug misuse. The center also plans to train at least 150 Arkansas health care providers to better respond to children at risk of opioid exposure.
“The NCOR team is dedicated to reducing the stigma around opioid use disorder so that families feel empowered to seek treatment and sustain recovery,” Allen said.
For more information or to see drone footage of the site work, click here.
