Freestanding ER planned in Fayetteville

Northwest awaits approval

FAYETTEVILLE — Northwest Health could build a freestanding emergency department in southwest Fayetteville under a plan awaiting city planner approval.

The medical system hopes to build a 10,000-square-foot facility just off Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard at Interstate 49 on about 3 acres of the property that was previously occupied by a hotel. The Northwest satellite emergency department would be able to accept ambulances as well as have parking for around 40 vehicles, according to description in city documents.

The Planning Commission is set to discuss and vote on the large-scale development request at its meeting Monday.

Northwest didn’t share many details, saying in a written statement the project is still being planned.

“Northwest Health continues to look for ways to enhance quality, reduce costs and increase access to services,” spokeswoman Christina Bull wrote. “Currently, we are exploring opportunities to expand our emergency services in the Fayetteville area.”

The building would be

Northwest’s first freestanding emergency department and the closest one for people in Farmington, West Fork and other parts of southwest Washington County, said Becky Stewart, chief of Central EMS. The organization provides ambulance service for most of the county.

“The more service that’s available, the better,” she said, adding the most serious injuries would likely still head to trauma centers at Washington Regional Medical Center, which is a six-mile drive away on the interstate, or elsewhere. “In addition to that, it can help take the burden off a larger hospital-based emergency room.”

Local hospital officials have long said emergency departments are meant for life-threatening emergencies, but are often busy with less pressing cases. Northwest, Washington Regional and other providers offer urgent care locations around Northwest Arkansas for cases like minor infections and sprains or fractures.

Farmington Mayor Ernie Penn said he’s spoken with people around town who are already pleased with the proposed building.

“Anytime you can have something closer, you can’t go wrong,” he said.

The land is owned by TSSD LLC, which falls under the umbrella of the nonprofit Razorback Foundation, according to the foundation’s tax filings. The hotel, which went by several names, closed in 2015 and was later demolished.

Northwest’s expansion is another piece of the ongoing construction spree by area health care providers to add onto existing locations, build smaller clinics and offer new services. Mercy Northwest Arkansas, for example, is in the middle of adding a new wing to its Rogers medical center and has broken ground on a Springdale clinic. Arkansas Children’s Northwest hospital in Springdale opened early this year.

Washington Regional and Northwest have also beefed up their offerings, including Northwest’s recent joining with the Mayo Clinic Care Network.

Highlands Oncology Group, based in Rogers and Fayetteville, announced in April it was under contract to buy 8 acres in Springdale near the interstate’s Don Tyson Parkway exit for another location.

Kathey Rhoads, the group’s chief operating officer, said it outgrew its Fayetteville facilities long ago.

“The announcement of expansion in Washington County couldn’t come soon enough,” she said in a written statement last month.