Mercy to Announce $1 Million Gift From Walmart Foundation
by January 25, 2013 1:33 pm 85 views
Mercy Northwest Arkansas officials have scheduled a 1:30 p.m. news conference Monday at Mercy Hospital in Rogers to announce a $1 million gift from the Walmart Foundation.
The gift will aid in the construction cost of the hospital’s senior behavioral facility, a project currently underway on the hospital’s seventh floor.
Scott Street, CEO Of Mercy Northwest Arkansas, said in a news release that the gift would help Mercy fulfill its commitment to patients to stay on top of evolving health care needs.
The addition of the facility will address an unmet need in the area, allowing the geriatric population to receive psychiatric services in Northwest Arkansas, rather than be sent to a specialist out of town.
“We want our co-workers, patients and our community to see and feel the commitment we have to being a pillar in the Northwest Arkansas medical landscape,” Street said.
Clark Ellison, vice president of the Mercy Foundation, stated, “It is one thing to see a need and a complete other to be able to address that need for patients, and we want to thank the Walmart Foundation and all the Walmart associates they represent for giving us the opportunity to look future patients in the eye and be able to say, yes sir or yes ma’am, we can take care of you right here.”
According to the news release, data from the Department of Health and Administration shows the population 65 and over increased from 35 million in 2000 to 40 million in 2010 (a 15 percent increase) and is projected to increase to 55 million in 2020 (a 36 percent increase for that decade).
Monday’s news conference will take place on the hospital’s seventh floor.