CARTI, the state’s largest not-for-profit multidisciplinary cancer care provider, named Adam Head president and CEO in 2017 after a six-month national search. With nearly 20 years of leadership experience, Head previously served as chief operating officer of the Arkansas Heart Hospital in Little Rock.

As CARTI celebrates its 50th anniversary on Sept. 12, Head chatted with Arkansas Black Vitality Publisher Wesley Brown and reflected on the organization’s rapid expansion, its mission to bring comprehensive cancer care closer to home, and the evolving challenges facing Arkansas families. In this extended conversation, Head discusses the philosophy behind CARTI’s growth, the importance of rural access, and how his military background shapes his leadership.

Q: CARTI has grown significantly since you took over in 2017. What has driven that expansion?

Head: “When I got to CARTI in 2017… it was more, I think, just looking at what did our identity need to be? What did we need to be to the patients we had the opportunity to serve at that time.”

He said that despite having an “amazing cancer center in Little Rock,” visits to clinics across the state revealed a stark contrast.

“When I would visit clinics in other parts of the state and see our team, see our providers, and see ultimately the patients we had the opportunity to serve, there was a pretty, pretty big gap. There was a gap in the places themselves, the locations… we didn’t have as much space. Didn’t have some of the really nice things that our foundation has supported us in, like heated recliners… natural light… a space for a family member to sit.”

That gap led CARTI to rethink the entire model.

“We ended up kind of going deeper than that, and started to question: Well, what is a cancer center?… We define [it] as a patient being able to go through the front door and having one front desk, and you have access to all of these different services in one place.”

Q: Why is rural access such a central part of CARTI’s mission? What gaps were you seeing across Arkansas?

Head: “Looking at Arkansas, that is, you know, between 40 and 45% of Arkansans live in a rural area, and then if you look at just the gaps that exist in healthcare in general, and certainly with cancer care, there’s a lot of areas of the state where maybe we were showing up and our team was doing great work, but we felt like we could do so much.”

He explained that many communities had long endured fragmented care:

“Maybe your mother got radiation. Maybe you’d get chemotherapy or immunotherapy at one place, but then you needed to go get radiation in a different place… the blood drawn somewhere else.”

This fragmentation created real hardship for families — especially older patients or those without reliable transportation.

Head said the team began asking a fundamental question:

“We ended up kind of going deeper than that, and started to question: Well, what is a cancer center?… We define [it] as a patient being able to go through the front door and having one front desk, and you have access to all of these different services in one place.”

That vision drove CARTI’s expansion into Conway, Russellville, North Little Rock, El Dorado, Pine Bluff, and most recently Heber Springs — all designed to reduce travel burdens and bring comprehensive care closer to home.

He emphasized that this is not about building more facilities for the sake of growth:

“Our goal has never been, ‘Well, let’s see how many cancer centers we can stand up just for the sake of having more buildings.’ It’s been because we have wanted to provide something that hasn’t been historically done in healthcare in Arkansas… so that patients, the majority of the time, can stay close to home.”

“What if we took the concept that’s a cancer center… and if we did that, what could that really change for people in this state?”

Q: You mentioned that cancer diagnoses in Arkansas have risen sharply, but death rates have remained flat. What do you think is driving that?

Head: “In 2016, 2017, there were roughly 16,000 Arkansans who were to get new cancer diagnoses that year, and now it’s a little over 20,400.”

That’s an increase of more than 4,000 new cases a year — a dramatic rise for a state with fewer than 3 million residents.

But despite that increase, Head said the number of Arkansans expected to die from cancer has remained “relatively flat.”

He sees a direct connection between improved access and improved outcomes:

“The way we correlate that is… it’s encouraging to us that by being closer to home, more patients are able to get to that early detection… those screenings and not put off that visit.”

He added that when care is local, patients are more likely to follow through:

“We think that by being radically accessible — by being present in these communities — we’re helping people get to care earlier, stay on their treatment plans, and not delay those critical appointments.”

Head said this is exactly why CARTI continues to invest in rural cancer centers, expanded imaging, breast centers, urology services, and support programs like dietitians, chaplains, genetics, and navigation.

“Our mission, in short, is to make trusted cancer care accessible… and in a state like Arkansas, that means showing up, being present, investing in sites and services and being more present than ever before.”

Q: CARTI has added services like dietitians, chaplains, genetics, and group therapy. Why are these important, and how do they fit into your model of care?

Head: “It’s all of those other parts of a cancer journey that every patient and family member would want, but they aren’t always provided at every cancer institution.”

He explained that CARTI’s approach is intentionally holistic — not just treating cancer, but supporting the entire human experience around it.

“We’ve added support services… dietitian support, cancer genetics and risk management, pastoral care, different types of group therapy, financial advocacy, patient navigation, connection to research trials… we’re trying to do more with those things.”

Head emphasized that these services are not “extras,” but essential components of modern cancer care — especially in rural communities where such resources have historically been scarce or nonexistent.

He noted that CARTI’s foundation has played a major role:

“Our CARTI Foundation has been phenomenal to be able to do that.”

He also highlighted the Bridge program, which is now expanding across multiple locations, including El Dorado:

“El Dorado is actually the most recent one where we added that… it’s all of those other parts of a cancer journey that every patient and family member would want.”

For many families, these services are transformative. Dietitians help patients maintain strength during treatment. Chaplains provide emotional and spiritual support. Genetics teams help families understand risk. Navigators guide patients through complex treatment plans. Financial advocates help them manage costs.

Head’s philosophy is clear: if a service can reduce stress, improve outcomes, or make the journey more humane, CARTI wants it available on‑site — close to home.

Q: What has been the most meaningful advancement during your tenure — whether in technology, patient care, or CARTI’s overall model?

Head: “Honestly… the most rewarding thing for me is when I walk into one of our cancer centers and I’m talking to a patient getting radiation or getting infusion or at one of our breast centers… and I hear them say or hear their family member say, Thank you so much for having this here. Thank you so much, so we don’t have to drive.”

He said that single sentiment — we don’t have to drive — captures the heart of CARTI’s mission.

“Because that… that’s the key to all these other things that we can provide.”

He explained that once patients can access care close to home, everything else becomes possible:

“In those spaces we’re providing CARTI urology. In those spaces we’re giving access to future research trials. We have advances in medical oncology and advanced imaging, and so forth.”

But none of those advancements matter if patients can’t reach them.

Head said the most meaningful advancement is the model itself — a statewide network of comprehensive cancer centers designed to eliminate long travel times, reduce fragmentation, and bring full‑service care to communities that never had it.

“We have the opportunity, the privilege to take care of more people than ever before in our 50‑year history, by far.”

For Head, the greatest achievement isn’t a single innovation—it’s the cumulative impact of making cancer care accessible, unified, and local for thousands of Arkansas families.

Q: You’re a former Army Medical Service Corps officer. How has your military service shaped your leadership and vision at CARTI?

Head’s military background is not a footnote — it’s a foundational part of how he leads, makes decisions, and responds to crisis. His answer in the interview was understated, but rich with meaning. Here is an expanded treatment that brings forward the full weight of his experience.

 “Well, it’s where I started. It was, I guess, the foundation for my leadership,” said the CARTI CEO. “I went through Army ROTC for four years at the University of Arkansas. That’s how I went to school. It paid for my school with service in the Army.”

He described entering the military at a pivotal moment in American history, right after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks against the U.S. in 2001. That event reshaped his trajectory. Instead of a routine early‑career assignment, he was thrust into wartime service.

“I was in at a really interesting time. I joined before — it was pre‑9/11. And 9/11 happened my junior year. (As) a Medical Service Corps officer,  I was thrust into crisis — in a combat environment. I was in Iraq all of 2005 when there was a lot going on then, and led the medical operations for my battalion.”

Head’s description of that year is brief, but the implications are enormous. Leading medical operations in Iraq meant coordinating care under fire, making life‑or‑death decisions, and managing teams in extreme conditions. He said those experiences forged instincts that still guide him today.

“Having been in some of those situations and having the opportunity, I would say, to be in those situations — having that pressure and some of those crisis moments… even though I didn’t fully realize it at the time or couldn’t comprehend it, I was able to see some of that play out over time.”

He explained that the lessons weren’t just tactical — they were human.

“Feeling those pressures as a leader, having to make decisions, forming relationships… a lot of hard things, but I’m ultimately thankful for the opportunity to serve and for those things that I learned.”

In many ways, Head’s military service mirrors the demands of leading a statewide cancer organization: navigating crisis, supporting people through trauma, making rapid decisions, and staying calm under pressure. His leadership style — mission‑driven, steady, and relationship‑centered — reflects that background.

For CARTI, his military experience translates into a culture of readiness, adaptability, and service. It’s visible in the organization’s rapid expansion, its willingness to rethink traditional models, and its commitment to showing up in communities where care has long been fragmented or absent.

Q: CARTI is celebrating its 50th anniversary. What does this milestone mean for the organization, and what are you celebrating?

Head: “We’re celebrating with our team. We’ve got over 1,200 team members. We’re celebrating with those patients and the family members of those patients who have trusted us over time.”

He emphasized that the anniversary is not just a marker of longevity — it’s a moment to honor the people who built CARTI and the thousands of families who have relied on it.

“We have an event that we’re going to be doing… in El Dorado, Little Rock, and Russellville. It’s an opportunity to celebrate with them over time. Certainly, those patients have gone through much, and so it is important to pause and remember.”

Head admitted that his natural tendency is to look forward rather than backward, but the 50‑year milestone has prompted reflection.

“My natural tendency is to always think ahead, but I would tell you, just looking at the next few years… our team certainly continues to grow, and we’re continuing to expand services.”

He said the anniversary also affirms that CARTI’s model — comprehensive cancer centers close to home — is working.

“We now have seen that this model works. And we want to do more than ever before in the research space… launching training programs… dozens of educational partnerships throughout the state.”

He said the celebration is both a tribute and a recommitment: honoring the past while accelerating the mission.

Q: Workforce shortages are a major challenge in healthcare. How is CARTI addressing staffing needs across the state?

Head acknowledged the challenge plainly. But he said CARTI is responding proactively — not by waiting for talent to appear, but by building pipelines that start as early as high school.

“It is challenging. We know that in healthcare we do have a number of shortages,” he said. “We’re looking at ways of training our own, and we realize ultimately we need to do that. We’d love to take individuals that are graduating high school.”

The CARTI CEO said the fast-growing cancer treatment organization has formed partnerships with high schools near its cancer centers, as well as with trade schools and four-year universities.

“We have partnerships with a number of high schools around the state… in a program called CARTI Discover. We’re continuing to develop partnerships with different trade schools, with different four‑year schools.”

He emphasized that CARTI’s workforce spans a wide range of roles — from PhDs and medical degrees to highly skilled technical and on‑the‑job‑trained positions. He said the long‑term vision is deeply rooted in the community.

“We have PhDs here, medical degrees, other roles that are more focused on on‑the‑job training and technical focus.

“The vision… is that individuals in a lot of these communities that may think, I don’t know if I’m going to be able to have a job, be able to live in the place where I grew up — we would love to be able to take individuals, train them, and then they can work in our cancer centers close to home and stay in their community and give back to their community.”

For Head, workforce development is not just an operational necessity — it’s part of CARTI’s mission to strengthen Arkansas communities.

Q: What keeps you up at night as CEO of a statewide cancer care organization?

Head didn’t hesitate to describe the pressures facing healthcare — especially independent organizations like CARTI.

Head: “We’re an independent organization, and there’s just a number of forces that are always… going against healthcare. There’s a lot of change happening right now, and healthcare organizations have to be ready to evolve.”

He said complacency is dangerous.

“We never want to be an organization that says we do it this way because we’ve always done it this way.”

He even tells new employees this on day one:

“I tell our new orientees that … we want their ideas,” said Head. “Us being again an Arkansas‑based independent organization… it’s just an additional weight. It’s continuing to navigate well the direction amid a lot of the forces and amid a lot of the change that is happening.”

But Head said he is reassured by the strength of his team.

“I’ve got a phenomenal leadership team around me. I’ve got a phenomenal team of individuals who are absolutely committed to this mission… they have got a lot of ingenuity. We have the ability to be agile.”

And despite the challenges, he remains confident:

“Thus far we’re doing okay. We’re here 50 years in, and not backing down.”

Q: What message do you want Arkansas families to hear right now?

Head: “We’re trying to provide something different, something that can be absolutely trusted… alleviating the need to ever have to think about driving outside the state, but not even potentially having to leave their area or their hometown.”

He emphasized CARTI’s commitment:

“We’re there to walk alongside those walking through some of the most difficult times in their lives… we’re trying to move out and kind of get in front of it more than ever before… we think we’re in a great place to start shifting that.”