Whitaker foundation gives $1 million to Arkansas Children’s Northwest

The 230,000-square-foot hospital is set to open this month and will have clinics and labs, 24 inpatient beds, a pediatric emergency department, several operating rooms and other services.

SPRINGDALE — The nearly finished Arkansas Children’s Northwest hospital received another $1 million donation, the latest from the Whitaker Family Foundation, the hospital announced Thursday.

The foundation gave the money in keeping with its mission to support medical research into chronic and serious conditions affecting children, according to a news release. The gift brings donations for the Springdale hospital to $68 million.

“Pauline Whitaker, the matriarch of the family foundation, established the foundation’s focus on children’s health care and education and is proud to support Arkansas Children’s Northwest and the vital services the new hospital will provide to families in the region,” Christian Gunn-Schinker, the foundation’s executive director, said in a statement.

The 230,000-square-foot hospital is set to open this month and will have clinics and labs, 24 inpatient beds, a pediatric emergency department, several operating rooms and other services. Arkansas Children’s in Little Rock will remain the site for the most critical procedures.

The Whitaker foundation began in 2014 on behalf of Pauline Whitaker and her late husband, C. Don Whitaker, one of the first Wal-Mart employees, according to the foundation’s website. Its gift is in addition to more than a dozen donations of at least $1 million for the hospital.

The Tyson family and Tyson Foods gave the largest donation of $15 million. WalMart, its foundation, the Walton Family Foundation, and the George and Evans families gave tens of millions more.

“We are grateful to the Whitaker family for joining our caring community as we work to fundamentally transform children’s health in our state,” Fred Scarborough, chief development officer for Arkansas Children’s, said in a statement. “This investment in Arkansas Children’s Northwest will support children for generations to come.”