Mercy breaks ground on $4.4 million clinic

The first physical work associated with a planned $192 million investment in new and expanded medical facilities in the Fort Smith area by St. Louis-based Mercy was recognized Thursday with a groundbreaking for the $4.4 million medical clinic.

The new 12,940-square-foot clinic, located at 7800 Dallas St. (near the Mercy Fitness Center) in Fort Smith, will have 26 exam rooms, an in-house lab and X-ray support. In addition to providing improved facilities for patients, Dr. Cole Goodman, president and CEO of Mercy Clinic, said the clinic will help recruit physicians to to the area and help reduce the “significant shortage” of primary-care doctors.

Goodman said the number of physicians now affiliated with Mercy Fort Smith is nearing 86, with five doctors joining in the past few weeks. However, he reminded the audience that the latest numbers indicate that the Fort Smith region is 43% below the national average for primary care physicians and 47% below the average for specialists. Systemwide, Mercy facilities are 26% below the U.S. average.

Each new physician in a community creates up to 4 other jobs, according to Goodman. He also said 80% of the subcontractors working on the new clinic are from the Fort Smith area.

Goodman said the clinic is the first of five to be built in the area within the next 10 years. Locations are selected, Goodman said, to provide closer proximity and better access for patients. He also said the clinic is a prototype to be used in the design of clinics in other Mercy markets in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma.

Dr. Sean Baker, primary care medical director for Mercy Clinic, said patient focus groups were consulted to help design the new clinic. Design work resulting from patient feedback included wider hallways and larger patient rooms. He also said Mercy has incorporated “innovative” technologies into the building “to improve the physician-patient relationship.” The technology will also allow for “televisits” with doctors in other cities.

Officials with Mercy announced on Aug. 25 their plans to invest about $192 million in Mercy health care facilities in the Fort Smith region as part of a 10-year plan to invest $4.8 billion in its operations in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. In the Fort Smith area, the plans include construction of the primary clinic, completion of the orthopedic hospital began by River Valley Musculoskeletal Center (RVMC), and a $500,000 investment in Mercy’s operation in Waldron.

Arkansas is set to capture about $400 million of the overall investment.

Kim Day, interim CEO of Mercy Fort Smith, said Thursday that work on the orthopedic hospital is in the “final design phase” with construction expected to begin in June or July. The work is estimated at $35 million.

Day also praised hospital staff for implementing the “telestroke” system that allows emergency room personnel to treat stroke victims. Prior to the new system, most stroke victims in the area were directed to the nationally-recognized stroke response facilities at Sparks Health System in Fort Smith.

“As of this week, we now have the ability to do that (treat strokes),” Day told the crowd.