St. Edward Mercy Names New Trustees

St. Edward Mercy Medical Center in Fort Smith recently announced the election of four members to its board of trustees. Each will serve three-year terms that begin July 1.

The new members include Ben Shipley III, a lawyer and managing partner with Cross, Gunter, Witherspoon & Glachus. A 1980 graduate of the University of Arkansas School of Law, he is a past member of the hospital’s advisory board.

Philip H. Merry Jr. is president of Bowen, Miclette, Britt & Merry of Arkansas Inc. and vice chairman of the Westark College Board of Trustees. Dr. Taylor Prewitt, a board-certified cardiologist, practices at Cooper Clinic. He is a graduate of Washington University School of Medicine and served as a senior fellow in cardiology at Brompton Hospital in London, England.

Rick Wade Jr. was re-elected to the board. A lawyer with Daily & Woods and a UA law school graduate, Wade has served as a trustee since 1996.

The hospital announced in 1998 plans for several expansions during the next three years. They include construction of a new outpatient center, a heart center and women and children’s center.