Between the lines

Hospital a healthy development

Springdale prepares for new Arkansas Children’s Hospital

Northwest Arkansas has scored another important addition with the announcement that Arkansas Children's Hospital will build a 24-bed facility in Springdale.

It will be awhile yet before the new hospital is a reality, but recent donation of 37 acres to house the campus in Springdale kicked off the campaign in a big way.

Gary and Robin George and David and Cathy Evans donated the land, which is on the northeast corner of South 56th Street and Watkins Avenue. Gary George and Cathy Evans are grandchildren of C.L. George, founder of George's Inc., which is headquartered in Springdale.

The plans, which were announced at this year's Color of Hope Gala in Rogers, call for a $184 million investment over the next five years. The hospital is tentatively scheduled to open in early 2018, although that will depend in part on the flow of additional donations.

Never fear. The donations will come. Northwest Arkansas people will make this project happen, as they have done with so many other challenging projects.

Notably, the site of the hospital property, just off Interstate 49 between Don Tyson Parkway and U.S. 412, is catty-corner from Arvest Ballpark and in the same general vicinity as the planned Springdale expansion of Northwest Arkansas Community College.

What is happening in that area is the future of Springdale, which will get a huge boost from location of the new Arkansas Children's Hospital there.

The hospital will, of course, serve all of Northwest Arkansas and is part of Children's larger plan to blanket Arkansas with services to improve access to pediatric care.

Marcy Doderer, president and CEO of the hospital, made the point as she explained that each area of the state will require a different approach.

"Based on conversations with physicians, business leaders and families, we know there are immediate needs right here that must be addressed," she said.

Significantly, the Springdale site, which is central to Northwest Arkansas, will allow an estimated 70 percent of the region's residents to reach the hospital within 30 minutes or less.

A first step in Children's expansion came this summer when the hospital added two new Angel One helicopters, improving transport capability.

The future hospital campus, Doderer said, will include 24 inpatient beds, an emergency department and urgent care center with 21 exam rooms, 30 clinic exam rooms, five operating rooms, imagining capabilities, diagnostic services and a helipad with a refueling station.

While the most critical patients will still need to be transferred to Little Rock, a local facility will allow many children to be served locally.

That will be a welcome relief for families that have needed to travel repeatedly to Central Arkansas for care and follow-up treatment.

Two generations of George family children have been treated by Arkansas Children's Hospital and their parents and grandparents are expressing gratitude with this timely gift.

Like so many others, they experienced the life-saving pediatric care for which Arkansas Children's Hospital is known worldwide.

And they endured long and frequent trips to Little Rock to get care, some of which could be delivered here.

"It's not just our family who has gone through this," George said last week. "Almost everyone knows someone connected to Children's."

Springdale Mayor Doug Sprouse, whose grandson had heart surgery at Children's when just 10 days old, made the same point.

"We made that three-hour trip a lot," he said. "Everybody has a story like that or knows someone who does."

That makes for a lot of people who should support this project.

For several years, Arkansas Children's Hospital has had a presence in Northwest Arkansas in the form of a clinic located in Lowell, opened in 2007 in collaboration with the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

That's been a great addition, allowing some children and families to avoid the trip to Little Rock. In fact, more than 21,000 children were treated at the Lowell facility last year.

More can access that care in the future.

"Once you've needed ACH, you realize the impact it has on the children of Arkansas," George said in a release announcing the families' gift.

"My sister and I know firsthand how wonderful the physicians and staff area at ACH. Having access to that kind of world-class care right here in Springdale will be a game changer for so many families."

He's absolutely right about the health-related benefits that will come with the new hospital.

But the gains won't stop with the hospital's construction, which is happening in an area where lots of acres remain undeveloped.

As Mayor Sprouse put it, "We have a lot of momentum in that area that will see other development bust loose."

That's great news for Springdale and for all of Northwest Arkansas.

Brenda Blagg is a freelance columnist and longtime journalist in Northwest Arkansas. Email her at [email protected].

Commentary on 08/16/2015

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