Doug, Shelley McMillon give $1 million to Mercy Northwest Arkansas
by July 22, 2019 10:51 am 2,653 views
Walmart CEO Doug McMillon and his wife Shelley are the latest family to contribute to Mercy’s Opening Doors capital campaign with a gift of $1 million. The fundraising campaign supports a $277 million expansion across Northwest Arkansas and includes the $141 million, seven-story hospital tower expansion under construction in Rogers.
Mercy announced the McMillon gift Monday (July 22).
“We’re so grateful to the McMillon family for seeing the importance of cardiac care and health care in general in Northwest Arkansas,” Clark Ellison, regional vice president of Mercy Health Foundation, said in a statement. “We are fortunate they want to be part of helping us advance health care, such an important cornerstone to sustainable growth in our community.”
Mercy said the McMillon family would have its name on the new heart unit in the hospital tower. The McMillon gift puts Mercy at approximately $20 million in philanthropic support toward a goal of $25 million in the campaign.
Located within the new tower’s fourth floor, the McMillon Family Heart Unit represents one of Mercy’s most essential services to the community. The unit will include 36 cardiac inpatient beds, nurses’ stations, family consultation rooms, friends and family waiting area, children’s playroom and a heart center conference room.
“It’s an honor for Mercy to be the recipient of the McMillons’ generosity,” Mercy Hospital Northwest Arkansas President Eric Pianalto said. “Their gift will have a lasting impact and enhance our ability to address the growing need for cardiovascular services in the area.”
Over 12 months, Mercy cared for 147 open heart surgery patients in the hospital and another 30,000 in outpatient and ambulatory settings. The need for cardiovascular services is expected to grow in the next five to seven years, Mercy said in the news release.
Mercy first announced the multiyear expansion in April 2016.
It included seven new clinics, including the multi-specialty facility under construction in Springdale and slated to open in September. The most significant piece of the expansion is a $141 million, seven-story hospital tower that will increase capacity from 200 to 350 beds. This tower remains under construction and opening is expected early this fall.