Champions of Rural Arkansas: Dr. Kellee Mitchell Farris

On this episode, we had an opportunity to have a conversation with Dr. Kellee Mitchell Farris. Take a listen as she shares her journey of coming back home to serve and the pure love and care that she has for her community.
Dr. Kellee Mitchell Farris has been on the staff at Lee County Cooperative Clinic since 2010. However, her time at LCCC dates back to her childhood. Her father, Dr. L.C. Mitchell, moved his family to Marianna in 1976 to be the Dentist at the Clinic. So, Dr. Farris has strong ties not only to the community, but to the Clinic. She has over 25 years of experience in health care and holds a Ph.D. in Public Health. She also has Master Certificates from Johns Hopkins University in Healthcare Data Analytics and in Population Health. Dr. Farris began her career at LCCC as the Depression Care Manager and later became the Quality Improvement Coordinator helping LCCC reach Level 3 PCMH Recognition in 2017. While working in the QI Coordinator role, LCCC was able to be awarded several grants and awards for achievement. Since becoming CEO in 2018, Dr. Farris has led the LCCC in receiving the 2019 Governor’s Quality Award and celebrating 50 years of service while having one of the most profitable years to that date. Most notably, Dr. Farris has helped lead the way in the Clinic’s recent groundbreaking of a new 20,000 square foot facility. This facility is more than double the size of the current facility and will be the focal point for what Dr. Farris calls the “Lee County Cooperative Clinic Campus”. Dr. Farris has developed a plan for the 16-acre campus to include a women’s health clinic, pediatric clinic, a program offering clinical rotations for medical students, and housing a wellness/fitness center. Dr. Farris wants to ensure that the community has direct access to quality primary and specialty care without having to travel outside of Eastern Arkansas. Dr. Farris was named the 2019 Community Leader of the Year by the School of Religious Studies, the 2020 Jack Geiger Vision Award recipient by the Community Health Centers of Arkansas, and in 2022 was named one of 5 finalists for the Best CEO by the Arkansas Times. In 2020, Dr. Farris was appointed to the NACHC Quality Improvement Advisory Board. Being a native of Marianna aids in Dr. Farris being able to work with the culturally diverse population. She is very active in the community. She recently ran for elected office in her district, with plans to run again and continue to advocate for hercommunity. She is a volunteer for the Arkansas Single Parent Scholarship Fund, Rotary, Arkansas Colorectal Cancer Consortium, a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., is a youth mentor, and volunteers for countless other community projects. Dr. Farris has twochildren, Lawton (12) and Klein (28).

Lee County Cooperative Clinic (LCCC) was established by a group of community leaders in 1969 in response to the desperate need for basic health care services for a community struggling with poverty, malnutrition, and insurmountable health care barriers. As the first Federally Qualified Health Center in Arkansas and one of the first in the United Stated, LCCC has provided comprehensive primary and preventative medical and dental care services to the most vulnerable populations. LCCC has grown from one small clinic to a comprehensive primary care delivery system comprised of four clinic sites and a mobile unit that provide medical, dental, and pharmacy services in a three-county area in eastern Arkansas - Lee, Phillips, and St. Francis Counties. LCCC prides itself in offering complementary services (case management, remote patient monitoring, health education, transportation, and Chronic Care Management) to its patients to ensure the “whole” patient is treated. LCCC is continuously looking for programs and strategic partnerships that will help achieve this vision.