Washington County Enterprise-Leader
PrimARy Health Clinic To Open Aug. 5
LOCAL SITE IS CONSIDERED FLAGSHIP MEDICAL OFFICE FOR NWA
PRAIRIE GROVE — A new medical clinic opening in Prairie Grove along Heritage Parkway wants to be a place to manage the whole family’s care, said Alex Collier, vice president of operations for PrimARy Health in Fayetteville.
The Prairie Grove PrimARy Health clinic is the first of what the company hopes will be many built to serve Northwest Arkansas, Collier said.
The clinic’s first day of operation will be Monday, Aug. 5, and an open house with hamburgers and festivities will be held Saturday, Aug. 10. Office hours will be 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday but extended hours on certain days are being considered for sometime in the future.
Collier said the clinic receptionist will be in the office starting July 29 to make appointments. The clinic will accept patients by appointment, as well as walk-ins.
Prairie Grove resident Jill Bodiford, advanced practice registered nurse, will serve as nurse practitioner and medical provider at the clinic. Esta Reynolds of Farmington will be the licensed practical nurse and Jill Hull of Prairie Grove will be the receptionist.
The clinic is located in Prairie Grove’s city limits with a Farmington address through the U.S. Post Office. The plan is to focus on both communities and be involved in both communities, Collier said.
“We really like to become a part of the community and be the
home healthcare provider for the people,” Collier said. “We want to serve the needs of both communities.”
Bodiford and her family are new to Prairie Grove, moving to the community from southeast Arkansas because of her husband’s job. She had just finished school to become an advanced practice registered nurse before the move to Northwest Arkansas.
Bodiford has worked as a registered nurse for 13 years including five years as the charge nurse for Bradley County Medical Center in Warren. Her experience includes working in the intensive care unit, emergency room, operating room, labor and delivery and medical surgeries.
Her registered nursing degree is from Jefferson School of Nursing in Pine Bluff and her advanced degree comes from Walden University, based out of Baltimore, Md. The program is online with four clinicals on location with doctors and nurse practitioners.
“With my experience being in a rural hospital, it’s taking the next step at the health clinic,” Bodiford said. “At the hospital, we took care of everything and everybody, and now it’s just taking on more of a hands-on approach.”
PrimARy Health will provide patient services that include primary care, preventive medicine, chronic disease management, urgent/ convenience care, well child care, immunizations and vaccines and pediatrics.
It will accept all insurances, including Medicare and Medicaid, and will have an insurance advisor available to help patients with insurance questions and needs.
The new clinic at 3150 East Heritage Parkway (Farmington) has eight exam rooms and one treatment room for emergency type situations. It also has a nurses’ station, reception area, offices, lab and a medication room.
Bodiford will use four exam rooms when the clinic first opens. The additional exam rooms will allow the clinic to expand in the future. The extra rooms also will be available if a patient needs a private place to wait.
The parent company of PrimARy Health is ARcare, which has 40 clinics in eastern central Arkansas, said Alex Collier. There’s also six clinics in Kentucky and one in Mississippi.
When looking for a place for its first family medical clinic in Northwest Arkansas, Collier said the company wanted it to be a good fit for the office and the community.
“The sense of community in Prairie Grove is something we really found attractive,” Collier said. “That’s how we operate. We want a close-knit community.”
From the business end, Collier said this part of Washington County does not seem to be saturated as far as healthcare options available to residents. In addition, the population growth is fairly substantial year after year, he said.
He pointed out that convenience drives healthcare and there’s no reason people should have to drive into Fayetteville for medical care if clinics are available to meet their needs.
The sense of community is also what attracted Bodiford to relocating to Prairie Grove.
Bodiford said her research led her to move to Prairie Grove but she didn’t know at the time how it would all work out for her. Prairie Grove is very similar to where they lived in southeast Arkansas and she liked the smaller community and the school district.
“The more I researched the community, I thought this is where I want to be. Whenever we first started looking at moving, I knew I wanted to be a part of the community. It’s gone full circle because now I will be a part of the community.”
“The sense of community in Prairie Grove is something we really found attractive. That’s how we operate. We want a close-knit community.” Alex Collier Vice President Of Operations For PrimaARy Health In Fayetteville