Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Medical clinics increase across region
Northwest Arkansas residents looking for medical care are finding an increasing number of options.
Health care leaders say connecting patients to the right care at the right place at the right time is driving them to expand clinic offerings.
Hospital leaders realize they must grow or diversify their system’s offerings to maintain profitability, said Rivka Friedman, practice manager of research and insights at The Advisory Board Co. The Advisory Board Co. is a global analytics, research and consulting firm serving health care and higher education.
“They know they can’t just rely on” inpatient admissions, she said. “There is a very clear demand from patients for better access to care.”
An Advisory Board report points to urgent care as one of the health care industry’s best patient growth opportunities. It states many consumers wait until they are sick before selecting a provider and then return to that doctor for other services.
Friedman said the survey reveals that six out of the top 10 attributes patients desire are related to access and convenience. Topping the list is walking in without and appointment and being seen within 30 minutes. Second is having other services, such as a lab and X-rays, on site.
“Improving access continues to be our focus,” said Sharif Omar, CEO of Northwest Health System.
Creating better patient access means building additional clinics and moving others to larger offices in more convenient locations, he said.
Northwest will be opening a new clinic soon on Elm Springs Road in Springdale that is a relocated facility. Omar said the layout will be unique and have an urgent care office that will be separate from the rest of the clinic. The urgent care clinic will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
The Urgent Care Association of America said convenient care clinics don’t require an appointment, offer evening and weekend hours, have an X-ray on site and can perform procedures such as suturing wounds and casting broken bones. The association reports nearly 7,100 urgent care centers in the United States.
Siloam Springs Regional Hospital opened its first urgent care clinic in January that is open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday. It is designed for patients suffering from minor illnesses or injuries who are unable to see their regular provider.
The new clinic is part of a medical plaza at 3721 E. U.S. 412 that also houses an expanded Siloam Springs Internal Medicine, including X-ray and laboratory services.
Sparks Health System is adding one new clinic in the River Valley this year. The new clinic will be at 6100 Massard Road in Fort Smith and joins three clinics that opened last year.
“Our new clinic on Massard Road in Fort Smith will allow us to provide primary care services with same day appointments available to meet our patients’ healthcare needs,” said Dan McKay, CEO, Sparks Health System. “The clinic is near the growing area of Chaffee Crossing, and we look forward to being part of this growth.”
Northwest, Siloam Springs and Sparks are owned by Nashville-based Community Health Systems Inc.
Washington Regional recently broke ground on a four-story, 66,300-squarefoot medical plaza near the Fayetteville hospital that will house an urgent care, family practice and other specialty clinics. It also will have an outpatient imaging center that will have MRI and CT scanners. The hospital expects the plaza to open early next year.
Bill Bradley, Washington Regional president and CEO, said the system performs an independent assessment of community health care needs about every three years, and improved access to clinic visits was at the top of the list after a 2013 study.
He said the plaza was designed to have extra space to handle future needs.
“I feel we will fill that up very quick,” Bradley said.
Washington Regional also is in the midst of building a five-story, 105,000-square foot women’s and children’s center. The expansion will expand the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit from 12 to 34 beds. It is scheduled to be finished in the fall.
A 350-space parking deck is also under construction. The trio of projects are about an $86 million investment, Bradley said.
Mercy Northwest Arkansas is investing about $31 million to buy land, build clinics and finish some hospital projects, said Eric Pianalto, president of Mercy Hospital Northwest Arkansas.
“We are in the process of asking what our future looks like,” he said. “We are a growing community and we are going to meet the needs.”
Dr. Steve Goss, president of Mercy Clinic Northwest Arkansas, said the system is in the process of purchasing land for a clinic in Pea Ridge, two in Bentonville and one in northern Washington County. He said Mercy does not like to extend clinics too far away from the hospital, calling it a “hub-and-spoke” system.
“Bella Vista has been another mini-hub,” he said of the clinic that opened there in 2013. It is a 30,000-square-foot multi-specialty clinic that has an expanded lab, imaging services and emergency room.
Goss said the Bella Vista clinic helped Mercy increase new patient visits by 15 percent, about double the national average.
Pianalto said the system added a helipad to the clinic last fall.
Mercy Clinic-Fort Smith is building a $7.9 million, 13,500-square-foot medical clinic on the campus of Arkansas Colleges of Health Education’s Fort Smith campus.
The clinic will be on Chad Colley Boulevard in Barling’s Chaffee Crossing , across the street from the osteopathic medical school, which is under construction. Clinic construction is set to begin soon and take about nine months.
Plans include 28 exam rooms, X-ray, triage, laboratory and conference space to accommodate approved residency program training requirements. Preliminary employment numbers include eight physicians, three advanced practice nurses and approximately 30 support staff.
Jason Wilson, Medical Associates of Northwest Arkansas CEO, said the system added three clinics last year and is moving and expanding one clinic this year. Last year’s additions included a primary care clinic in Elkins and Springdale and a chiropractic office.
Chiropractic is a new MANA service and the Fayetteville office offers expanded physical therapy services,
Wilson said. MANA is a physician-owned network.
“We are always looking at adding a few new specialties,” he said.
Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield, New Directions Behavioral Health and Washington Regional’s Advantage Primary Care are partnering to test a new program at 507 W. Monroe Ave. in Lowell. The 24-month pilot program integrates mental health care and primary care in one location.
New Directions is providing a behavioral health consultant to support physicians with Advantage Primary Care to bridge the divide between medical, behavioral and social conditions by laying the groundwork for a collaborative, integrated care model.
“The future of healthier Arkansans will happen when we shift from treating physical, behavioral and mental health conditions separately to looking at how all conditions impact a patient’s overall health,” Dr. Rhonald Searcy, a physician at Advantage Primary Care, stated in a news release. “Having a New Directions behavioral health specialist integrated within our care team has allowed me to spot conditions such as substance abuse, anxiety and depression early so I can accurately diagnose and effectively treat my patients.”
The expanded offerings also help Northwest Arkansas look more attractive to potential residents, said Mike Malone, president and CEO of the Northwest Arkansas Council.
“Health care is important to talent, and our companies are recruiting some of the best talent in the world,” he said.
“We are in the process of asking what our future looks like. We are a growing community and we are going to meet the needs.” — Eric Pianalto, president of Mercy Hospital Northwest Arkansas