Health Care Providers Investing in Fort Smith
Rendering of future exterior of Mercy Hospital. Rendering courtesy Mercy Health.
Mercy Fort Smith
Mercy Fort Smith’s goal is to create compassionate, comprehensive care closer to home, and with that comes the need to grow throughout the community. Mercy Hospital Fort Smith is a 348-bed facility that sits in the heart of Rogers Avenue. Mercy has more than 60 clinic and outpatient facilities to serve patients in the River Valley. During fiscal year 2023, Mercy Fort Smith had approximately 239,700 outpatient visits, 60,503 emergency room visits and saw the birth of 2,707 babies. Mercy has the area’s only Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and is home to Arkansas’ first Ronald McDonald Family Room and a Ronald McDonald House, which opened in fall 2021.
Part of Mercy’s ongoing growth includes an expansion of the emergency department and intensive care unit, an almost $200 million investment Mercy has made to better serve the River Valley. Mercy and the community broke ground on the project in February 2022, and it’s expected to be completed in spring 2025. The expansion of the ED will allow for about 20,000 additional patient visits per year and includes special considerations for infectious disease and behavioral health patients. Mercy will expand its ED from 29 to 50 rooms and increase ICU capacity from 38 to 64 while doubling the number of rooms capable of supporting ventilators. Additional changes include adding 200 parking spaces, a new gift shop and meeting room spaces.
Mercy’s commitment to care in the River Valley can also be seen in the new clinics and facilities that have opened in the past two years. Mercy Rehabilitation Hospital Fort Smith, which opened in May 2021, is a state-of-the-art, 50-bed inpatient, acute hospital dedicated to the treatment and recovery of individuals who have experienced the debilitating effects of a severe injury or illness. There are now three Mercy GoHealth-Urgent Care locations open in Fort Smith on Phoenix Avenue, Rogers Avenue and Fianna Way, the first of which opened in late 2022. Additionally, a new Mercy primary care clinic opened on Towson Avenue in January 2024, while additional primary care clinics in Poteau and Greenwood recently opened or are scheduled to open later in 2024. Mercy Clinic Sports Medicine – 79th Street opened in fall 2023.
Mercy continues to pave the path forward using technology to improve patient care. In spring 2023, Mercy Fort Smith became the first hospital in the country to have the GE Omni Legend PET/CT scanner onsite. The scanner helps create a better, faster experience for both oncology and cardiology patients and allowed Mercy to double its current patient capacity, with the goal of being able to provide same-day or next-day access. In early 2023, Mercy’s orthopedic surgery team began using the Mako Smart Robotics Joint Replacement Surgery at Mercy Orthopedic Hospital in Fort Smith. Mercy is the only River Valley hospital providing the technology for minimally invasive partial and total hip and knee replacements. Additionally, the new ROSA Knee System at Mercy allows surgeons to perform total knee replacements with less pain and shorter recover time for patients. Robotic surgery with the DaVinci system is also available for Mercy Fort Smith patients, including bariatric patients, while Mercy will add a second DaVinci system in 2024. In fall 2023, Mercy performed its first Cardiac ablation, a procedure used to correct abnormal electrical rhythm in the heart.
Mercy Hospital Fort Smith has been recognized with an “A” grade since 2016 by the Leapfrog Group, which monitors patient safety records at hospitals nationwide. Additionally, Mercy’s critical access hospital in Booneville, Paris, Ozark and Waldron have been recognized by the Chartis Center for Rural Health as among the nation’s top performers for quality and patient satisfaction. Our stroke care teams are recognized annually by the Arkansas Department of Health and the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, along with Gold Plus, Target: Stroke Elite Honor Roll and Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll awards for 2022.
In November 2023, for the 20th time, Mercy earned the “Most Wired” recognition from the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives, which conducts an annual survey to assess health care organizations that optimize the use of information technology to improve health and health care in their communities. In 2023, Fortune magazine named Mercy one of its “Most Innovative” companies in the U.S.
Mercy Hospital Fort Smith serves as a teaching hospital and offers a varied patient population and case mix, state-of-the-art technology and units staffed for subspecialty care. The graduate medical education program offers faculty who are committed to providing the training and experience necessary to prepare skilled physicians. Additionally, Mercy Fort Smith offers two residency programs in internal medicine and family medicine, with its first class of residents graduating in June 2024.
Mercy is proud to collaborate with local school districts to care for students and families, including the Fort Smith School District. Mercy Family Medicine – H Street, is located behind Darby Junior High School and provides complete health care to Fort Smith schools staff, students and their families. Mercy also helps connect local students with opportunities to learn more about health care careers. This includes hosting eighth-graders from Darby Middle School’s Health Sciences Academy each day as well as collaborating on the sponsorship of the health sciences program at PEAK Innovation Center. Each summer, Mercy Fort Smith hosts students from throughout the area during its Medical Applications of Science for Health program (MASH), a collaboration with the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.
Community outreach has been an invaluable part of Mercy’s service to others. Mercy Clinic McAuley Women’s Health – South 74th provides pregnancy care for patients who are uninsured, under-insured or Medicaid eligible. Additionally, more than 2,171 co-workers Mercy-wide donated a total of 12,790 work hours across a four-state area while participating in Mercy’s Volunteer Time Off program in 2023.
For more information about Mercy, visit mercy.net or call 479-314-6000.
Part of Mercy’s ongoing growth includes an expansion of the emergency department and intensive care unit, an almost $200 million investment Mercy has made to better serve the River Valley. Mercy and the community broke ground on the project in February 2022, and it’s expected to be completed in spring 2025. The expansion of the ED will allow for about 20,000 additional patient visits per year and includes special considerations for infectious disease and behavioral health patients. Mercy will expand its ED from 29 to 50 rooms and increase ICU capacity from 38 to 64 while doubling the number of rooms capable of supporting ventilators. Additional changes include adding 200 parking spaces, a new gift shop and meeting room spaces.
Mercy’s commitment to care in the River Valley can also be seen in the new clinics and facilities that have opened in the past two years. Mercy Rehabilitation Hospital Fort Smith, which opened in May 2021, is a state-of-the-art, 50-bed inpatient, acute hospital dedicated to the treatment and recovery of individuals who have experienced the debilitating effects of a severe injury or illness. There are now three Mercy GoHealth-Urgent Care locations open in Fort Smith on Phoenix Avenue, Rogers Avenue and Fianna Way, the first of which opened in late 2022. Additionally, a new Mercy primary care clinic opened on Towson Avenue in January 2024, while additional primary care clinics in Poteau and Greenwood recently opened or are scheduled to open later in 2024. Mercy Clinic Sports Medicine – 79th Street opened in fall 2023.
Mercy continues to pave the path forward using technology to improve patient care. In spring 2023, Mercy Fort Smith became the first hospital in the country to have the GE Omni Legend PET/CT scanner onsite. The scanner helps create a better, faster experience for both oncology and cardiology patients and allowed Mercy to double its current patient capacity, with the goal of being able to provide same-day or next-day access. In early 2023, Mercy’s orthopedic surgery team began using the Mako Smart Robotics Joint Replacement Surgery at Mercy Orthopedic Hospital in Fort Smith. Mercy is the only River Valley hospital providing the technology for minimally invasive partial and total hip and knee replacements. Additionally, the new ROSA Knee System at Mercy allows surgeons to perform total knee replacements with less pain and shorter recover time for patients. Robotic surgery with the DaVinci system is also available for Mercy Fort Smith patients, including bariatric patients, while Mercy will add a second DaVinci system in 2024. In fall 2023, Mercy performed its first Cardiac ablation, a procedure used to correct abnormal electrical rhythm in the heart.
Mercy Hospital Fort Smith has been recognized with an “A” grade since 2016 by the Leapfrog Group, which monitors patient safety records at hospitals nationwide. Additionally, Mercy’s critical access hospital in Booneville, Paris, Ozark and Waldron have been recognized by the Chartis Center for Rural Health as among the nation’s top performers for quality and patient satisfaction. Our stroke care teams are recognized annually by the Arkansas Department of Health and the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, along with Gold Plus, Target: Stroke Elite Honor Roll and Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll awards for 2022.
In November 2023, for the 20th time, Mercy earned the “Most Wired” recognition from the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives, which conducts an annual survey to assess health care organizations that optimize the use of information technology to improve health and health care in their communities. In 2023, Fortune magazine named Mercy one of its “Most Innovative” companies in the U.S.
Mercy Hospital Fort Smith serves as a teaching hospital and offers a varied patient population and case mix, state-of-the-art technology and units staffed for subspecialty care. The graduate medical education program offers faculty who are committed to providing the training and experience necessary to prepare skilled physicians. Additionally, Mercy Fort Smith offers two residency programs in internal medicine and family medicine, with its first class of residents graduating in June 2024.
Mercy is proud to collaborate with local school districts to care for students and families, including the Fort Smith School District. Mercy Family Medicine – H Street, is located behind Darby Junior High School and provides complete health care to Fort Smith schools staff, students and their families. Mercy also helps connect local students with opportunities to learn more about health care careers. This includes hosting eighth-graders from Darby Middle School’s Health Sciences Academy each day as well as collaborating on the sponsorship of the health sciences program at PEAK Innovation Center. Each summer, Mercy Fort Smith hosts students from throughout the area during its Medical Applications of Science for Health program (MASH), a collaboration with the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.
Community outreach has been an invaluable part of Mercy’s service to others. Mercy Clinic McAuley Women’s Health – South 74th provides pregnancy care for patients who are uninsured, under-insured or Medicaid eligible. Additionally, more than 2,171 co-workers Mercy-wide donated a total of 12,790 work hours across a four-state area while participating in Mercy’s Volunteer Time Off program in 2023.
For more information about Mercy, visit mercy.net or call 479-314-6000.
The Fort Smith Baptist Health hospital on the corner of Towson Avenue and Dodson Avenue. Photo by John Speck.
Baptist Health
Baptist Health-Fort Smith is a 492-bed medical center accredited by The Joint Commission. In addition to operating one of the busiest emergency departments in the state, the hospital offers providers who specialize in areas such as cardiology, cardiovascular and thoracic surgery, neurology, interventional radiology, urology, hematology/oncology, orthopedics and general, trauma and bariatric surgery.
From screenings to expert treatment or surgery, Baptist Health-Fort Smith provides advanced, state-of-the-art services to ensure you get the best possible results from your care including the minimally-invasive da Vinci surgical system for a wide range of gynecological and urological procedures.
Baptist Health-Fort Smith is recognized annually for its commitment to safety and quality care for patients with heart failure, chest pain, and stroke by the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology.
Nearly 1,000 babies are born amazing at Baptist Health-Fort Smith each year. In addition to experienced obstetricians and staff members, the hospital’s labor and delivery unit offers many options for mothers who want to experience a natural birth with minimal interventions. Apart from traditional forms of pain management for labor, Baptist Health-Fort Smith offers nitrous oxide, or “laughing gas.”
The River Valley is also home to nearly 40 Baptist Health primary care, urgent care and specialty clinics, as well as outpatient imaging and therapy centers.
Baptist Health’s newest clinic provides specialized services for the Hispanic community. Baptist Health La Clínica del Pueblo opened in the fall of 2021 at 4700 Kelley Highway, Suite B, in Fort Smith with the goal of eliminating language barriers for Spanish-speaking residents seeking health care services in the River Valley. Wilson Cruz, MD, and his staff are bilingual and can treat patients of all ages for a wide variety of health concerns including adult wellness exams, management of acute and chronic illness and sick visits.
For more than 100 years, Baptist Health has delivered All Our Best in health care through Christian compassion and innovative services. Baptist Health is Arkansas’ most comprehensive health care organization with more than 250 points of access that include 11 hospitals; urgent care centers; a senior living community; over 100 primary and specialty care clinics; a college with studies in nursing and allied health; a graduate residency program; and access to virtual care anytime, anywhere.
It is also the largest private not-for-profit health care organization based in Arkansas, providing care through the support of approximately 11,000 employees, groundbreaking treatments, renowned physicians and community outreach programs.
For more information about Baptist Health, visit baptist-health.com, call Baptist Health HealthLine at 1-888-BAPTIST or download the myBaptistHealth app.
From screenings to expert treatment or surgery, Baptist Health-Fort Smith provides advanced, state-of-the-art services to ensure you get the best possible results from your care including the minimally-invasive da Vinci surgical system for a wide range of gynecological and urological procedures.
Baptist Health-Fort Smith is recognized annually for its commitment to safety and quality care for patients with heart failure, chest pain, and stroke by the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology.
Nearly 1,000 babies are born amazing at Baptist Health-Fort Smith each year. In addition to experienced obstetricians and staff members, the hospital’s labor and delivery unit offers many options for mothers who want to experience a natural birth with minimal interventions. Apart from traditional forms of pain management for labor, Baptist Health-Fort Smith offers nitrous oxide, or “laughing gas.”
The River Valley is also home to nearly 40 Baptist Health primary care, urgent care and specialty clinics, as well as outpatient imaging and therapy centers.
Baptist Health’s newest clinic provides specialized services for the Hispanic community. Baptist Health La Clínica del Pueblo opened in the fall of 2021 at 4700 Kelley Highway, Suite B, in Fort Smith with the goal of eliminating language barriers for Spanish-speaking residents seeking health care services in the River Valley. Wilson Cruz, MD, and his staff are bilingual and can treat patients of all ages for a wide variety of health concerns including adult wellness exams, management of acute and chronic illness and sick visits.
For more than 100 years, Baptist Health has delivered All Our Best in health care through Christian compassion and innovative services. Baptist Health is Arkansas’ most comprehensive health care organization with more than 250 points of access that include 11 hospitals; urgent care centers; a senior living community; over 100 primary and specialty care clinics; a college with studies in nursing and allied health; a graduate residency program; and access to virtual care anytime, anywhere.
It is also the largest private not-for-profit health care organization based in Arkansas, providing care through the support of approximately 11,000 employees, groundbreaking treatments, renowned physicians and community outreach programs.
For more information about Baptist Health, visit baptist-health.com, call Baptist Health HealthLine at 1-888-BAPTIST or download the myBaptistHealth app.
UAMS Family Medical Center in Fort Smith. Photo courtesy of UAMS.
UAMS Family Medical Center-Fort Smith
The UAMS Family Medical Center, Fort Smith, provides primary care medical services to patients of all ages. The facility not only offers treatment for acute medical conditions, but also ongoing treatment for chronic conditions.
Services also extend to annual physicals and wellness visits, including well-woman and well-child visits. Treatment covers pediatric conditions to senior health care with both child and adult immunizations. The center also offers women’s health and maternity care services.
Highly-trained doctors in Fort Smith provide care for women before, during and after pregnancy, and also provide cancer screenings from colonoscopies for colon cancer to cervical cancer screenings.
The center contains 48 examination rooms. Convenient walk-in visits are available for patients. The facility in Fort Smith also includes a minor surgical suite and gynecology procedure rooms. For added convenience, there is also an in-house laboratory and digital x-ray services. The clinic has an electrocardiographic monitoring system, OB ultrasound, fetal monitor and radio surgical and cryotherapy units.
Services also extend to annual physicals and wellness visits, including well-woman and well-child visits. Treatment covers pediatric conditions to senior health care with both child and adult immunizations. The center also offers women’s health and maternity care services.
Highly-trained doctors in Fort Smith provide care for women before, during and after pregnancy, and also provide cancer screenings from colonoscopies for colon cancer to cervical cancer screenings.
The center contains 48 examination rooms. Convenient walk-in visits are available for patients. The facility in Fort Smith also includes a minor surgical suite and gynecology procedure rooms. For added convenience, there is also an in-house laboratory and digital x-ray services. The clinic has an electrocardiographic monitoring system, OB ultrasound, fetal monitor and radio surgical and cryotherapy units.
The new VA Medical Clinic opened in April 2022 at 5700 Phoenix Avenue, adjacent to Ebbing Air Base. Photo courtesy of Veterans Health Care System of the Ozarks.
Fort Smith VA Clinic
The Veterans Health Care System of the Ozarks (VHSO) opened its doors to a brand new, state-of-the-art facility on April 11, 2022, after relocating the current clinic in Fort Smith to a facility nearly twice its size.
The VA Clinic is located at 5700 Phoenix Place near the airport. The facility is 34,000 square feet and includes services including:
Since these services are onsite, Veterans have faster results and better access to care.
The use of Tele-Health services decreases wait times and eliminates the need for travel. The Department of Veterans Affairs leveraged the increased use of Tele-Health services during the pandemic and will continue to make more specialty services available via virtual care modalities.
Convenience and comfort are key factors in the design of the clinic, and the Women Veterans area received special attention that includes their own, larger area specific to women’s health care. The new space is timely, as women Veterans represent the fastest growing population at Veterans Healthcare System of the Ozarks, and in many areas across the country.
Women Veterans continue to serve, and newly designed facilities incorporate many changes that better accommodate women Veterans. Excellent care and the patient experience are two of the prime focus areas for patient care.
VHSO and its clinics were recently recognized as being in the top five hospitals in Arkansas in patient experience.
The VA Clinic is located at 5700 Phoenix Place near the airport. The facility is 34,000 square feet and includes services including:
- Patient-Aligned Care Team model for Primary Care
- Increase of exam rooms from nine to 27
- Laboratory
- Audiology
- Optometry with an Optical Shop
- Radiology services (computerized tomography or CT, X-Ray, and Ultrasound)
- Expanded Telehealth capabilities like tele-retinal
- Expanded Mental Health services (room for group therapy, substance abuse program and telehealth capabilities)
- Expanded Women’s Health Area
Since these services are onsite, Veterans have faster results and better access to care.
The use of Tele-Health services decreases wait times and eliminates the need for travel. The Department of Veterans Affairs leveraged the increased use of Tele-Health services during the pandemic and will continue to make more specialty services available via virtual care modalities.
Convenience and comfort are key factors in the design of the clinic, and the Women Veterans area received special attention that includes their own, larger area specific to women’s health care. The new space is timely, as women Veterans represent the fastest growing population at Veterans Healthcare System of the Ozarks, and in many areas across the country.
Women Veterans continue to serve, and newly designed facilities incorporate many changes that better accommodate women Veterans. Excellent care and the patient experience are two of the prime focus areas for patient care.
VHSO and its clinics were recently recognized as being in the top five hospitals in Arkansas in patient experience.
For a full listing of healthcare providers who are members of the Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce, click here:
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