CHI St. Vincent plans $14 million project to renovate Sherwood hospital, build neurosurgery institute

CHI St. Vincent has announced a $14 million project to expand and renovate CHI St. Vincent North in Sherwood and move the Arkansas Neuroscience Institute to the hospital, from CHI St. Vincent Infirmary in Little Rock, according to a news release. CHI St. Vincent will invest $10 million into the project and the community will invest $4 million.

Plans include renovating the 69-bed hospital in Sherwood and building a neurosurgery education and research center adjacent to the facility. Moving the Arkansas Neuroscience Institute from the Little Rock hospital will allow it room to expand.

The healthcare provider wants to “create a medical destination and continue to lead the field in neuroscience,” the release shows. The education and research center will be where “a new generation of surgeons will continue to travel to learn the skills necessary to tackle the most complex cases and positively impact survival rates for patients with neurological disorders.”

Chad Aduddell, CEO of CHI St. Vincent, said creating the Neuroscience Institute at CHI St. Vincent North “allows us to better serve a full spectrum of neurological disorders and treat the growing number of patients ANI serves from all 75 counties in Arkansas, 37 states and other countries around the world.”

Also, ANI will expand its services to include epilepsy surgery and surgery for movement disorders. Currently, it treats neurological disorders such as metastatic tumors of the brain, spine and nerves. It also offers skull base surgery, vascular neurosurgery, neuro-oncology and spine and spinal cord surgery.

Dr. Ali Krisht directs the institute, which was established in 2010 and is comprised of five neurosurgeons. Each year, they perform more than 1,000 surgeries. In 2016, the institute offered five courses, with more than 200 practitioners participating.