Packaging Specialties Inc. and the Biggs Family Gives $2 Million to Arkansas Children’s Northwest

(Springdale, AR) March 28, 2017 – Kaaren Biggs along with the Biggs Family and Packaging Specialties Inc. (PSI) recently gave $2 million to Arkansas Children’s Northwest.

“Throughout the years, our family and our Packaging Specialties families have needed the specialty care provided by children’s hospitals,” says Kaaren Biggs, owner of Packaging Specialties Inc. “We are grateful to support Arkansas Children’s Northwest and the future generations of children it will serve.”

Packaging Specialties, Inc. supplies more than 27 different industries, with high-quality flexographic printed films.

“Supporting Arkansas Children’s Northwest is the right thing to do,” says Kaaren. “We knew we wanted to be a part of providing pediatric care close to home for children in the region. My husband Hays Biggs loved children and I know he would be proud of our decision to support Arkansas Children’s Northwest.”

The conference space at Arkansas Children’s Northwest will be named in honor of the Biggs Family and Packaging Specialties Inc.

“This generous gift from the Biggs Family and Packaging Specialties Inc. is tremendous,” says Fred Scarborough, chief development officer for Arkansas Children’s and president of Arkansas Children’s Foundation. “The Biggs family understand the importance of pediatric care in the region and we are honored that they chose to invest in a better tomorrow for children in 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.

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.