Arkansas Childrens Hospital Moving Closer to Expansion?

It’s no secret that Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock is actively investigating an expansion into Northwest Arkansas.

No secret, because ACH hasn’t kept it a secret. In the past few months, some of its key leaders have met with several health care executives and other civic leaders in our area, and from what we’ve been told, the ACH leadership has been clear — they are planning to increase the pediatric specialty services in Northwest Arkansas by building a hospital.

When reached by phone recently, Dr. Robert Steele, the chief strategy officer at ACH, acknowledged the hospital’s interest in Northwest Arkansas, but added the evaluation process is ongoing and complex, particularly due to the substantial need of philanthropic support.

Steele offered little in the way of concrete details, but speculation should come to a halt soon. Steele said he anticipated being able to discuss more substantive information later in August.

“We don’t have enough information to give you right now, but we will shortly,” he said.

According to at least one informed source, ACH — the only pediatric medical center in the state and the sixth-largest in the country — has hired Kurt Salmon Associates, a national health-care consulting firm based in Atlanta, to start developing a business plan for a possible NWA expansion.

As for where? It has been suggested that one of Springdale’s most charitable families — who happens to own hundreds of acres of undeveloped land along Arkansas Highway 412 and South 56th Street, west of Interstate 49 — has made it known to ACH officials that if the hospital ever chose to build a facility here, it had property to offer.

Stay tuned.