St. Bernards near first-phase completion of construction project; recognized for heart attack care

Anthony Langley thought he was suffering from indigestion. The acid in his stomach continued to churn, and it wasn’t long before a sharp, stabbing pain enveloped his chest and back. When his wife saw him, his face looked ashen.

She rushed him to the hospital. The 44-year-old was in the midst of a heart attack. When he reached the cardiologist in Jonesboro, the surgery room was a frenzy of doctors, nurses, and others.

“I didn’t know what was going on … but they were saving my life,” Langley told Talk Business and Politics.

St. Bernards Medical Center is the only health institution in Arkansas to receive the prestigious Lifeline Gold Plus Award for excellence in heart attack care, given by the American Heart Association, according to information released by the hospital. It’s the second year in a row the hospital earned the honor, and it is the only hospital in the state’s history to receive this designation, according to the hospital.

When a person suffers a major cardiac event, such as a heart attack, the goal is to get that person into surgery within 90 minutes, Dr. Jaime Chavez said. At St. Bernards, they are able to get that patient into surgery in about 60 minutes, he said.

“We are very pleased with our efforts,” Chavez said. “I’m very proud of what we’ve been able to achieve … if we can change one life, everything we do is worth it.”

The national recognition comes at a time when the hospital is undergoing a massive, $130 million facelift. The first phase of that project, a $9 million reconstruction of the Ben E. Owens Cancer Treatment Center, Vice-President of Affiliated and Senior Services Kevin Hodges told Talk Business and Politics.

Once it’s completed, the new cancer center will have a new patient drop-off access point on Jackson Avenue, a new atrium in the interior, a new laboratory for blood testing, a new chemotherapy pharmacy will prepare all physician ordered treatments on site, and other amenities will be added to the center.

Hospital officials hope the initial phase will be completed in the next 60 days, Hodges said. Work is on schedule, but with any reconstruction project there are always unforeseen delays, he said.

Phase two of the project will include a renovation of the Heartcare Center that could cost up to $10 million and include an expansion of all invasive services, Hodges said. A new electrophysiology lab and new hybrid lab will be built, and the old cardiac catheterization lab will be renovated. More labs will also be built, along with a 30-patient preparation and recovery area, and other updates. Hospital officials hope to have this phase of the project finished by late in the summer of 2017, Hodges said.

The third phase involves the construction of a five-story, 245,000-square-foot surgical tower. Numerous surgery-related services, a chapel, critical care areas, and others will be housed in the tower. To build the tower, the old St. Bernards Annex building will be demolished, Hodges said. Construction on the tower and a reconfiguration of the emergency room/services department will begin next year and cost about $75 million. It’s slated to be completed in late 2018.

The fourth phase of the project will be a renovation of the existing medical center. Patient rooms will be remodeled, as will designated public areas. Kitchen and dining spaces will also receive updates.