The first of a three-year symposium series on health care policy and law in Arkansas will be held from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 30, at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law.

The symposium series, made possible by a donation from Blue Cross Blue Shield, is designed to foster thoughtful, intellectual debate about health care issues in Arkansas. The goal is to promote informed policy making and to establish a platform for generating research projects.

This year’s Health Care Policy and the Law Symposium will focus on access to health care in Arkansas. Lectures and panel discussions will cover rural health care, the scope of practicing medicine, and how technology, communication, and culture affect access to health care. Some of the presentations will be published in the Arkansas Journal of Social Change and Public Service.

Special speakers include Dr. Gregory Bledsoe, surgeon general for the state of Arkansas, former Congressman Dr. Vic Snyder, John Selig, former director of Arkansas Department of Human Services, and Rich Huddleston, executive director of Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families.

In addition, Scott Pace, executive vice president and CEO of the Arkansas Pharmacists Association, Rick George, senior director of benefits at J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc., and Kathleen Holk, a professor at the University of Maryland School of Law, will also speak at the symposium.

Registration is $20 in advance online or $30 on the day of the symposium. Lunch and snacks will be provided.

For more information, call 501.324.9973 or email law@ualr.edu.