Photo courtesy of Forma Fertility
Hassan and Danielle Huntley know what it feels like to build a family far from home.
Their journey took them through unfamiliar clinics across Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and Missouri for five embryo transfers before two resulted in the pregnancies that brought their children into the world.
That experience isn’t rare here. Between 40 and 50 percent of Northwest Arkansas fertility patients still travel out of the region for care, often starting over with providers they've never met during the exact moment they most need someone they trust.
In the middle of that journey, the Huntleys started asking themselves: What if the OB-GYNs we already know and trust could provide fertility treatment?
And that question became Forma Fertility.
Rather than asking patients to start over with unfamiliar providers, Forma's model creates pathways for local OB-GYNs to play a larger role in their fertility care by pairing them with the specialized reproductive medicine expertise, lab support, and clinical training that fertility treatment requires.
Forma plans to build a state-of-the-art outpatient clinic in Northwest Arkansas offering the full range of care — fertility assessment, egg freezing, IUI, IVF, and embryo screening — so patients no longer have to leave the region, or the doctors they trust, for the care they need.
Local Trust Attracts State-Level Attention
Washington Regional Medical Center
Forma is finalizing a letter of support with Park Hill Clinic for Women, one of the largest women's health practices in Northwest Arkansas, and is in active conversations with four additional practices across Fayetteville, Springdale, and Rogers.
Forma’s clinical approach is shaped by Dr. Emanuela Molinari, who brings more than 20 years of experience in reproductive medicine and a belief that fertility care is ultimately about preserving opportunities for families.
That combination of trusted local providers and clinical rigor earned Forma an invitation to a room most pre-revenue companies never see.
10X Arkansas, the state's flagship growth accelerator backed by the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, typically requires startups to be generating revenue to participate. Forma is the exception, joining as the only pre-revenue, fully Arkansas-based business in a cohort that includes companies from Silicon Valley and Kansas City, several of which have been operating for more than six years and generated upwards of $50 million in revenue. The accelerator begins August 4 in Conway.
Part of a Bigger Push Across Arkansas
Alice L. Walton School of Medicine
Forma plans to expand its model across Arkansas and the broader Heartland region, and the timing lines up with a broader push across the state.
Right up the road, the Alice Walton School of Medicine is training a new generation of physicians with a shared focus on holistic care.
Walmart, NWA's largest employer, already offers associates up to $20,000 toward fertility treatment, though few local clinics exist close enough to use it.
In May, Olivia Walton launched Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies America, a five-year initiative calling attention to maternal health.
All that momentum coming from a state where, according to Heartland Forward research, women's healthcare outcomes rank among the lowest in the nation.
The Huntleys are among the growing list of leaders working to change that narrative. And it all started with one couple’s desire to give their neighbors access to something they didn’t have.
"Our fertility journey took us across four states," said Hassan Huntley, co-founder of Forma Fertility. "That's the experience we're building Forma to eliminate. We've lived this and we're building the clinic that we needed for every family in this region living it right now."
Learn more about Forma Fertility HERE.