Baxter Health Pain Clinic Welcomes Blake Copeland, MD, with Focus on Addiction Medicine

Baxter Health is pleased to welcome Blake Copeland, MD, to the Baxter Health Pain Clinic, where he will focus primarily on addiction medicine. Copeland joins a team that includes Ryan Krafft, DO; Niger Stice, PA-C; Candi Caldwell, APRN; Alison Duggins, APRN; Kala Hatch, APRN; and Derek McMurry, APRN. He will begin seeing patients in early September.

Addiction medicine and pain management are deeply connected. Many patients dealing with chronic pain also struggle with substance use, and many patients in recovery are managing pain conditions that require careful, thoughtful treatment. Having a physician on the Pain Clinic team whose primary focus is addiction medicine means patients in north central Arkansas can now receive specialized, integrated care for both concerns in one place, without having to seek out separate providers or travel far from home.

Copeland brings a clinical background that is as broad as it is deep. Trained in internal medicine, he has spent his career moving across some of the most demanding roles in the healthcare system, from hospitalist and intensive care medicine to primary care, hospice, and medical leadership.

His experience in long-term care and hospice gave him a firsthand understanding of how pain, dependency, and quality of life intersect for patients with complex conditions, and that understanding is central to the work he will do at the Pain Clinic. He has spent more than a decade practicing addiction medicine, working directly with patients navigating the intersection of substance use and chronic illness. Among the treatments he offers is Sublocade, a once-monthly buprenorphine injection used in the treatment of opioid use disorder. Sublocade is not widely available in the region, and its addition to the Pain Clinic’s services represents a meaningful expansion of care options for patients in north central Arkansas.

Copeland earned his Doctor of Medicine from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Medicine in Memphis and completed his internal medicine residency there as well. He later served as Chief Medical Officer of Arkansas Continued Care Hospital, directed ICU and CCU units at Baptist-Paragould, and founded Pioneer Medical Clinics, his own primary care practice in Arkansas. He has also served as medical director for multiple long-term care, home health, and hospice organizations, and as adjunct faculty at three academic institutions, including UAMS and St. Bernards.

Brian Barnett, Vice President of Physician Enterprise and Business Development at Baxter Health, spoke to what Copeland’s addition means for the community. “Addiction touches a lot of families in our region, and access to a physician who specializes in this area of medicine has been a real gap,” Barnett said. “Blake brings clinical depth, leadership experience, and a genuine commitment to the patients who need this kind of care most. We are glad to have him here.” Outside of work, Copeland enjoys spending time with his family and being outdoors. He enjoys fishing and spending time on the lake.

Blake Copeland, MD, will begin seeing patients in early September at the Baxter Health Pain Clinic. To schedule an appointment, please call (870) 508-5900.