Mercy To Receive Walmart Grant

— The Walmart Foundation is donating $1 million to Mercy Medical Center in Rogers for its Senior Behavioral Health program, the hospital announced Friday.

Construction of the geriatric facility is under way on the seventh floor of the hospital. Plans to build the facility came in reaction to a recent market assessment, from which Mercy found senior behavioral health needs were not being met in the region.

The population of Americans 62 and older rose from 41.2 million in 2000 to 49.9 million in 2010, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That age bracket accounted for 14.7 percent of the total U.S. population in 2000 and 16.2 percent in 2010.

Scott Street, chief executive officer of Mercy Northwest Arkansas, said the new facility is part of Mercy’s Community Master Plan.

“It represents Mercy fulfilling a commitment to our patients and our community to stay on top of the evolving health care needs, addressing those needs and allowing people to be cared for here in our own community where we tend to feel more comfortable,” Street said in a news release from Mercy.

Additional details about the donation and the Senior Behavioral Health program weren’t available Friday. Mercy officials said they would host a news conference on the topic Monday.

Opinion, Pages 6 on 01/26/2013

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