Springdale Facilities Board seeks bond issue to support Arkansas Children’s Hospital

The Springdale Facilities Board is going to bat for Arkansas Children’s Hospital to help finance up to $85 million of the $165 million expected construction costs for the large project. Springdale Mayor Doug Sprouse said the city council will vote on a bond resolution at its Tuesday meeting (April 12).

Sprouse said the state government allows city pubic facilities boards to sell bonds to finance projects that are for the greater good such as Arkansas Children’s Hospital. With council approval, the public facilities board can issue up to $85 million in bonds which will be repaid by Arkansas Children’s.

“There is no taxpayer money involved. It’s merely a pass thru finance option which has attractive terms for the hospital,” Sprouse said. “The city is happy to get behind this project that will benefit the entire region.”

He said it’s not the first time the public facilities board has been involved in business expansion projects in the city as it’s a fairly typical way to finance projects that benefit the public.

The $85 million should cover slightly more than half of the building costs. The hospital foundation’s fundraising arm plans to raise the remaining $70 million.

Marcy Doderer, CEO of Arkansas Children’s Hospital, said recently that Northwest Arkansas was chosen as the place for the $165 million hospital because there is now enough population density to support it. She said the hospital has long wanted to blanket the state with services that will improve access to pediatric care and the health of the state’s youngest residents.

The 225,000 square-foot hospital campus was announced in August 2015 and will be located on 37 acres of land in west Springdale, which was donated by David and Cathy (George) Evans, Gary and Robin George and their families. The building site is located near Interstate 49 between Don Tyson Parkway and U.S. 412, bordered by South 56th Street and Watkins Avenue across the street from Arvest Ballpark. The hospital will have 24 beds, emergency department, urgent care with 21 exam rooms, 30 clinic exam rooms and 5 operating rooms. There will be a helipad and refueling station.

Doderer said the need in Northwest Arkansas for the intense, high-quality child healthcare that ACH provides is increasingly evident. Last year, an estimated 21,000 children were treated at the ACH Clinic in Lowell and more than 450 children were transported to Arkansas Children’s Hospital via Angel One helicopters and ambulances.

As the population in Northwest Arkansas pushes beyond 500,000 residents, the estimated number of children needing pediatric care also is expected to increase. Officials estimate that the pediatric population in the region is growing two- to three-times faster than in any other part of the state. Furthermore,  at least 27% of the children in the region live in poverty and half grow up in low-income households.

The hospital estimates operating costs for the first five years to be about $245 million. Doderer said the project will bring 300 new jobs to the region. She said site prep work is now underway with the hospital completion expected by 2018. ACH officials said the Springdale location will provide access to ACH services for 70% of the region’s residents within a 30 minutes or less.