UAMS launches initiative, tops out Springdale hospital
by May 21, 2026 12:08 pm 533 views
The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences will use a $1.2 million federal grant to develop behavioral health outreach programs, as its $109.5 million hospital west of Interstate 49 in Springdale recently reached a construction milestone.
UAMS recently hosted a topping-out ceremony for the two-story, 85,000-square-foot UAMS Health Orthopedics & Sports Medicine Hospital at 5293 Watkins Ave. UAMS broke ground on the hospital in 2023, and its $109.5 million investment includes the land, construction, equipment and furnishings.
The ceremony marked the placement of the highest beam on the hospital, located on about 30 acres southeast of Watkins Avenue and Gene George Boulevard. Fayetteville-based Marlon Blackwell Architects designed the building, with support from Davis Stokes Collaborative Architects P.C. Conway-based Nabholz Construction Corp. is the general contractor.
The building will be the home in Northwest Arkansas for UAMS Health orthopaedic surgical care and include exam rooms, operating rooms and inpatient beds. The facility will also provide sports medicine care, sports performance training, physical therapy and MRI. About 150 staff will work there when it opens in spring 2027.
“This facility will be an invaluable addition to Northwest Arkansas,” UAMS Chancellor C. Lowry Barnes said. “This innovative surgical facility will accommodate patients’ needs for advanced orthopaedic surgical technology, as well as physical medicine and rehabilitation. The facility will enable us to offer a wide range of orthopaedic procedures, allowing for more personalized, efficient and effective care from Arkansas’ largest fellowship-trained orthopaedic team.”
With a $1.2 million Rural Communities Pathways grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration, the UAMS Institute for Community Health Innovation will work with schools in Carroll and Madison counties to establish programs to reduce behavioral risk factors among youth while preparing students for career opportunities in community health.
The institute will work with schools in Huntsville, Eureka Springs and Kingston to train teachers to identify and respond to risk behaviors. The institute will also work to develop programs that introduce students to community health career opportunities, including establishing the first community health worker training for high school students.