Arkansas Children’s Northwest Opens Today as Region’s First and Only Pediatric Hospital and ER

FEB. 27, 2018 – SPRINGDALE, AR. – Beginning today, the 200,000 children of Northwest Arkansas will have access to comprehensive pediatric medical care 24/7 with the opening at 6 AM of Arkansas Children’s Northwest (ACNW), the region’s first and only children’s hospital and pediatric emergency department.

This milestone marks the first time that pediatric emergency medical services have been available where Northwest Arkansas children live, learn and play. Arkansas Children’s Northwest is designed, staffed and equipped just for children.

Resources ranging from bed size to play-focused therapy and medications are specially tailored to children’s unique sizes and needs at ACNW.

“This emergency department and hospital will fundamentally transform child health in the region,” said Marcy Doderer, FACHE, Arkansas Children’s president & CEO. “As we open our doors – and our arms – we welcome families to a place that provides every imaginable resource a child needs to be better today and healthier tomorrow.”

The health system moved existing outpatient clinics from Lowell to the new facility in January. Offering 24 inpatient beds and 30 clinic rooms, ACNW was built on 37 acres in Springdale donated by Robin and Gary George, Cathy and David Evans and their families, a $7.5 million investment in the region’s children. 

Arkansas Children’s leadership announced plans for the hospital, which has benefitted from tremendous community investment, in August of 2015, embarking on an ambitious design-build plan. They developed ACNW as one component of a statewide network of care designed to reach more kids in more ways as close to their homes as possible.

The new campus joins a flagship hospital in Little Rock, a statewide transport system dedicated to delivering children in critical condition to life-saving care, and a range of outreach programs that include telemedicine, mobile health and school-based health solutions.

“We will keep going to communities statewide in the ways they need us to ensure Arkansas becomes the safest and healthiest place to raise a child,” said Arkansas Children's Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Chanda Cashen Chacon, MPH, FACHE. “Each corner and every stretch in between deserve resources that work specifically for their own children.”

As the region’s only comprehensive pediatric health center, Arkansas Children’s Northwest also offers families:

• 233,613 of wellness space designed to maximize children’s discovery & delight
• A state-of-the-art pediatric surgery unit with 5 operating rooms
• A full range of ancillary and diagnostic services, child-life social work and pastoral care programs
• Outdoor gardens, nature trails and interactive features designed specifically for children
• A helipad and refueling station supporting Angel One, one of the nation’s leading pediatric intensive care transport services

After opening outpatient services in January, Arkansas Children’s Northwest passed state licensure requirements with the Arkansas Department of Health in February. This cleared the way for the five-story hospital and its wellness-focused campus to welcome families for surgeries, chemotherapy infusions and diagnostic tests, among other services.

“We open knowing that we are needed now more than ever,” said Trisha Montague, senior vice president and chief administrator of Arkansas Children’s Northwest. “We are ready to help families as they cope with the most challenging flu season our nation has seen in a decade.”

The staff of Arkansas Children’s Northwest, including its Emergency team, has been training on site since December. Day-in-the-life exercises and constant monitoring of the region’s situation have prepared the team for an influx of patients on Day 1.

“We stand ready to greet Northwest Arkansas children,” Montague said, “And offer them the unparalleled comfort of care close to home.”