To keep up with growth, Mercy to invest $500M in Northwest Arkansas – Talk Business & Politics

St. Louis-based well being system Mercy will make investments $500 million within the second part of its healthcare growth in Northwest Arkansas.

Based on a information launch Tuesday (July 19), part two’s initiatives will embrace a state-of-the-art most cancers heart, emergency division and isolation room growth, extra clinic areas, extra outpatient care services and hiring greater than 100 major care physicians and specialists. That may almost double the present quantity.

Mercy spokesman Nate Kuester mentioned the most cancers heart web site is to be decided.

“We’re a number of areas, together with on or across the Mercy Hospital Northwest Arkansas property [in Rogers],” he mentioned.

Mercy’s $500 million funding brings its complete dedication to Northwest Arkansas to virtually $1 billion in lower than a decade. In 2016, Mercy introduced the $300 million part one growth, which included a 275,000-square-foot affected person tower in Rogers, 1,000 new healthcare jobs and first care and specialty clinics in Benton and Washington counties.

“Section two advances Mercy’s long-standing dedication to a rising Northwest Arkansas neighborhood and the way we higher serve sufferers in the best way they need to expertise customized well being care, near residence,” Ryan Gehrig, president of Mercy Arkansas, mentioned in an announcement. “That is additionally a continuation of our dedication to low-cost, high-quality care, a worth we now have offered Arkansas households and companies for many years.”

Specifics of the $500 million funding embrace:

• A state-of-the-art most cancers heart
• Hiring greater than 100 major care physicians and specialists
• An expanded emergency division
• An growth of isolation rooms
• Constructing out the highest flooring of the hospital to extend the variety of affected person beds to just about 400
• New clinic areas
• Expanded providers in major care, neuroscience, emergency, girls’s and youngsters’s, orthopedics, gastroenterology and behavioral well being
• Expanded ambulatory choices to incorporate pressing care, infusion and imaging

Mercy officers say the assets are wanted to maintain up with the area’s development.

“We’ve got been planning so as to add a complete most cancers heart in Northwest Arkansas for a few years,” Scott Cooper, president of Mercy Clinic Northwest Arkansas, mentioned within the launch. “Everybody has been affected by most cancers indirectly, and we’d like extra most cancers care assets within the area. Mercy offers faith-based, compassionate care near residence, so Northwest Arkansas sufferers have the help of household and mates they want when receiving care.”

Mercy’s not too long ago accomplished initiatives in Arkansas embrace:

• A $141 million, seven-story hospital tower in Rogers that gives house for expanded neonatal care, the McMillon Household Coronary heart Unit, extra pediatric care and extra
• A multispecialty clinic in Springdale with a 24-hour ER
• Six clinics in Northwest Arkansas • A 22-bed devoted orthopedic and backbone unit
• A brand new inpatient rehabilitation unit
• Expanded neurology look after sufferers in each Northwest Arkansas and Fort Smith
• A $162.5 million emergency room and intensive care unit growth is underway in Fort Smith (anticipated completion date in late 2024)
• A rehabilitation hospital in Fort Smith
• A $42 million orthopedic hospital in Fort Smith, that includes 24 beds and 24-hour affected person care

“Mercy continues to honor the legacy of the Sisters of Mercy, who arrived in Arkansas in 1850 to look after the sick and poor, by increasing entry to well being care in our area,” mentioned Eric Pianalto, chief strategic development officer for Mercy Arkansas. “My new position in strategic development provides me the thrilling alternative to work with our management staff to broaden hospital providers, clinic areas and recruit the first care and specialty physicians we have to meet the rising calls for of Mercy’s Arkansas communities.”

Mercy mentioned it could pursue philanthropic partnerships to assist help the growth plans.

“Neighborhood help is extraordinarily useful for plans like this,” mentioned Clark Ellison, vp of Mercy Well being Basis in Northwest Arkansas. “Mercy will pursue philanthropic partnerships with neighborhood leaders, companies, foundations and mates, and collectively we’ll additional improve neighborhood entry to state-of-the-art tools, expertise and packages for households throughout the area.

“This initiative is a transformational alternative that we consider the neighborhood will need to help. So, we welcome extra contributions that can assist us meet the wants of the neighborhood even past what’s at the moment deliberate.”