Mercy Fort Smith set to open parts of $186 million expansion

Fort Smith may arguably be the third-largest city in Arkansas and center of the state’s third-largest metro area, but the Mercy Fort Smith hospital emergency room is the busiest in the state, according to Ryan Gehrig, president of Mercy Arkansas Communities.

Gehrig spoke Friday (May 2) to more than 150 people who gathered for a tour of the hospital’s new emergency room and intensive care unit (ICU) facility.

The hospital had more than 68,800 emergency room visits in 2024, about 8% more than in 2023 and more than any other ER in the state, Mercy noted in a statement.

“Emergency rooms across the country are consistently overflowing, which often means patients are waiting hours at a time to be seen,” said Dr. Aaron Bull, Mercy Fort Smith emergency room medical director. “We owe it to our patients to improve, and this expansion project is what’s needed to help us fulfill our promises to do everything we can for our patients.”

St. Louis-based Mercy began work on the main Fort Smith hospital in February 2022. The $186 million project expands the emergency department from 29 to 50 rooms, with ICU beds rising from 36 to 64. The new ER will allow for about 25,000 more patient visits per year and include “special considerations for infectious disease and behavioral health patients.” The ER expansion includes a five-room secured area for behavioral health patients that is designed for patient and co-worker safety.

The overall expansion will add 161,000 square feet to the hospital. The emergency department is set to open May 7, and the ICU has a May 21 “target date” to open. The entire new space, including a new main entrance, gift shop, conference rooms, is scheduled to be complete and open in October.

The original estimate for the expansion project was $164 million. That number grew to $186 million with the rising cost of materials and labor after the project began.

The expansion also is expected to add up to 160 jobs when the work is complete and all areas are fully operational. Stephanie Whitaker, Mercy’s chief nursing officer, said Friday they have hired more than 50 nurses and with the expected addition of more nurses and technicians should have 100 new hires by June.

Gehrig thanked Sister Judith Marie Keith in his introductory remarks. Keith, who attended Friday’s event, was the hospital leader in the early 1970s when the decision was made to move the hospital from downtown Fort Smith to the location at Rogers Avenue and 74th Street. At that time, it was one of few developments east of Interstate 540. President Gerald Ford attended the official opening in August 1975 of the original Mercy – then known as St. Edwards Mercy Medical Center – campus on Rogers Avenue.

“She’s the one who had the vision to build this new hospital over fifty years ago,” Gehrig said. “And at the time a lot of people thought she was maybe off her rocker a little bit. There was nothing here. It was all pastureland. And look at what we have today. Sister I just want to thank you for your vision and for the foundation that you built. We’re still building upon that today.”

That pasture is now home to 1.363 million square feet – including the new expansion – of hospital facilities.

Jason Demke, Mercy Fort Smith chief operating officer, said at times during the expansion there were around 360 contractors on site “competing for parking as well as progress.” He also said construction included more than 900,000 labor hours and counting, more than 20,600 cubic yards of concrete, and 3.5 million pounds of rebar/steel.

Following are other expansion details provided by Mercy.
• Expansion of the ICU will more than double rooms available to support ventilators, and an automation system will allow some spaces to be turned into isolation areas.

• The private ICU rooms include an area for a family space, and the area has two visitor lounges.
• There are nine emergency medical services (ambulance) bays, and the new area includes a breakroom and decontamination area for emergency medical technicians – ambulance personnel.
• Additional plans include a 22-bed observation unit requiring no renovation in the former ICU space.
• A helipad relocation was included to improve patient transport
• The work also includes 400 more parking spaces, including a parking deck, with parking closer to the new ER entrance.
• The project was designed by HKS Inc. of Dallas, and McCarthy Building Companies of St. Louis was the general contractor.

Steve Mackin, president and CEO of St. Louis-based Mercy, announced during Friday’s event that Gehrig, who has been president of Mercy operations in Arkansas since June 2022, will return to his leadership role in Fort Smith.

“Now that we have stability and an ambitious plan in Northwest Arkansas, Ryan can fully return to his previous position here as president of Mercy Fort Smith communities. There is no doubt that Ryan understands Fort Smith like no other and he genuinely loves this community,” Mackin said.