Children’s hospital receives $100,000 donation

Steve and Sharon Stafford of Green Forest, along with their family, are donating $ 100,000 to help with the construction of Arkansas Children’s Northwest.

The Staffords’ grandson, Stafford Waller, spent three weeks in the neonatal intensive care unit at Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock after being delivered at 32 weeks. Today, 10-year-old Stafford is thriving.

“It’s not easy for any parent or grandparent to have a child in the hospital, especially when it involves a threehour drive,” Steve Stafford said in a news release. “We want to honor our grandson and help ensure every child in the area has access to lifesaving pediatric care in their own backyard.”

Arkansas Children’s Northwest is under construction at Interstate 49 between Don Tyson Parkway and West Sunset Avenue, across from Arvest Ballpark in Springdale. The hospital is scheduled to open in January.

A play area on the hospital’s third level will carry the Stafford family and Anstaff Bank name. Arkansas Children’s last month announced a $250,000 gift from Anstaff Bank where Steve Stafford serves as chairman and CEO.

Arkansas Children’s Northwest is being built on 37 acres donated by Robin and Gary George, Cathy and David Evans and their families. The project is expected to create 250 jobs and to cost $427.7 million in construction, technology, equipment and operating expenses over the next five years.

Arkansas Children’s Northwest is designed by Polk Stanley Wilcox Architects of Fayetteville and Little Rock and FKP Architects of Houston. Nabholz Construction is overseeing construction.