Endeavor Foundation Commits $2 Million to Services at Arkansas Children’s Northwest

(Springdale, AR) January 19, 2017 - Endeavor Foundation has donated $2 million to Arkansas Children’s Northwest (ACNW) in Springdale. The gift will ensure ACNW can provide essential programs immediately and effectively deliver comprehensive, family-centered care close to home for every child who needs it.

Arkansas Children’s has a 100-year history of caring for the state’s most vulnerable children. The organization treats every child – regardless of their ability to pay. Each year, Arkansas Children’s spends millions of dollars meeting the needs of children whose families are underinsured, uninsured, or whose parents are not in a position to fund their care. This commitment breaks down significant barriers to receiving health care.

Children’s hospitals are unique in that they deliver family-centered care, including caregivers as part of a child’s healthcare team and supporting the entire family in a variety of ways. Critical programs—like financial counseling, volunteer services, and pastoral and palliative care—are essential components of family-centered care and are hallmarks of Arkansas Children’s. Such services are key to providing a healthier tomorrow for the children of Northwest Arkansas.

While critical to the mission of a children’s hospital, these programs do not generate revenue. The grant from Endeavor will help cover the costs of family-centered programs and services so that the children of Northwest Arkansas will have comprehensive pediatric care close to home. Additionally, a modest portion of the gift will fund an assessment to evaluate the impact of providing family services as an integrated part of the healthcare plan.

“Arkansas Children’s is committed to doing what is right for kids, regardless of the cost,” says Trisha Montague, senior vice president for regional services and chief administrator of Arkansas Children’s Northwest. “We anticipate Arkansas Children’s Northwest will operate at a deficit for the first five years due to the expense of delivering family-centered care to every child who enters our doors. We are very grateful to Endeavor Foundation for this generous gift that will help make children in Northwest Arkansas better today and healthier tomorrow.”

Endeavor Foundation makes grants that address the common needs of Northwest Arkansas through innovative thinking and long term solutions. This includes improving access to resources for individuals and families who struggle with basic needs, such as health care.

“We believe that all residents of Northwest Arkansas must be mentally and physically healthy, safe, and economically and socially stable in order to thrive,” says Anita Scism, President and CEO of Endeavor Foundation. “Endeavor is committed to providing access to resources and opportunities to those most in need. Our partnership with Arkansas Children's Northwest to provide children and family-centered programs, services, and support will be an important step toward realizing our vision of healthy people, thriving communities, and a vibrant Northwest Arkansas."

When it opens in January 2018, Arkansas Children’s Northwest will be the region’s first and only comprehensive pediatric healthcare center and will include:

• 24 inpatient beds to care for children requiring overnight stays
• 24-hour pediatric Emergency Department
• Pediatric surgery unit with 5 operating rooms
• An outpatient clinic with 30 exam rooms supporting more than 20 subspecialty areas and a general pediatric clinic
• A full range of ancillary and diagnostic services, child-life and pastoral care
• Outdoor gardens, nature trails, and interactive features designed for children
• A helipad and refueling station supporting Angel One, one of the nation’s leading pediatric intensive care transport services with more than 2,000 transports annually.

In August 2016, Arkansas Children’s announced a public campaign to raise funds for Arkansas Children’s Northwest. To date, the campaign has celebrated publically $57 million in pledges. 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
• 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
• Central States Manufacturing, $250,000
• Bikes, Blues and BBQ, $200,000
• Black Hills Energy, $100,000

The grant from Endeavor Foundation is the first programming gift announced by Arkansas Children’s.

“The Endeavor Foundation has long been a champion for children in this region,” said Fred Scarborough, chief development officer for Arkansas Children’s. “We are proud to partner with an organization whose core message and work is lifting the community quality of life and health especially through strengthening programs and resources for children.” 

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.

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.

About Endeavor Foundation

Endeavor Foundation has made grants totaling more than $93 million to help create a thriving and vibrant Northwest Arkansas. We rely on the region’s civic and business leaders, community organizers, and nonprofit providers to address common needs through innovative thinking and long term solutions. Endeavor supports collaborative efforts that effect systemic change on a large scale so that, together, we can improve the lives of all the people that call Northwest Arkansas home. For more info, visit www.endeavorfoundation.net.