Dyer Family Gives $1 Million to Arkansas Children’s Northwest

(Fayetteville, AR) January 31, 2017— Grateful grandparents Joanie and Jon Dyer are giving $1 million to the construction of Arkansas Children’s Northwest. The gift was inspired by the excellent care their grandson received at Arkansas Children’s Hospital.

“The care and attention given to Dyer by the staff and doctors in Little Rock were beyond measure,” explains Jon Dyer.  “The care he received was uniquely special and that is why we are making our gift to providing pediatric emergency services for other children in the region.”

At the age of three, the Dyer’s grandson, Dyer Bailey, was rushed to an area hospital emergency room unable to move his neck. An Angel One helicopter flew him to Arkansas Children’s Hospital, where neurosurgeons discovered his C1 & C2 vertebrae were out of alignment. The nurses and physicians at ACH were able to restore their grandson’s prognosis from life-threatening to a life of full mobility.  In honor of their gift, the Emergency Department at Arkansas Children’s Northwest will bear the Dyer Family name.

“We are grateful to the Dyer Family for their commitment to the children in the region,” says Trisha Montague, vice president of regional services and chief administrator for Arkansas Children’s Northwest. “This gift will help fundamentally transform healthcare delivery for children.”

In August 2016, Arkansas Children’s announced a public campaign to raise funds for Arkansas Children’s Northwest. To date, Arkansas Children’s has announced the following gifts as part of the Care Close to Home campaign:

• Tyson Family and Tyson Foods, Inc.,  $15 million
• Walmart and Walmart Foundation, $8 million
• Robin and Gary George, Cathy and David Evans and their families, $7.5 million
• J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc., $5 million
• Will Golf for Kids and Color of Hope, $5 million
• Walton Family Foundation, $3 million
• Endeavor Foundation, $2 million
• Fadil Bayyari Family, $1 million
• Cynthia and Kirk Dupps, $1 million
• Robin and Gary George, $1 million
• The estate of Mildred and Jarrell Gray, $1 million
• Karen and Darren Horton, $1 million
• J.B. and Johnelle Hunt Family,  $1 million
• Premier Concepts, Inc., $1 million
• Schmieding Foundation, $1 million
• Anstaff Bank, $250,000
• Central States Manufacturing, $250,000
• Bikes, Blues and BBQ, $200,000
• Black Hills Energy, $100,000

Arkansas Children’s Northwest is being built on 37 acres of land donated by Robin and Gary George, Cathy and David Evans and their families -- a gift valued at $7.5 million. The campus is centrally located on I-49 between Don Tyson Parkway and Highway 412, across from Arvest Ballpark. The project is expected to cost $427.7 million in construction, technology, equipment, and operating expenses over the next five years, and will create 250 new jobs.

“We are grateful to the Dyer Family for their generous gift to Arkansas Children’s Northwest,” says Fred Scarborough chief development officer for Arkansas Children’s Northwest. “It is a beautiful way to honor their grandchildren and the lifesaving care their grandson received.”

Arkansas Children’s Northwest is being designed by Polk Stanley Wilcox Architects of Fayetteville and Little Rock, Ark., and FKP Architects of Houston, Texas. Nabholz Construction is overseeing construction. The campus is an integral part of Arkansas Children’s Hospital’s plan to transform the health of children in Arkansas by expanding access to pediatric services across the region.