New Facilities in Wichita, Dierks Expand Holland Nursing Chain

Tommy Holland has expanded his nursing home holdings by purchasing one and building another. Holland, who already owned and operated four nursing facilities in Arkansas, including three in Northwest Arkansas, is renovating a Wichita, Kan., nursing home that had closed because it couldn’t meet regulators’ requirements.

Holland was visiting Wichita last March when he read newspaper accounts of the nursing home that had closed voluntarily because of its regulatory problems. He drove by for a look and ended up purchasing the facility from its original owners, who had built the home 30 years earlier. With 106 beds, the facility, called Briarwood Nursing Center, is Holland’s largest.

It’s expected to reopen in early December after Holland completes about $1 million worth of remodeling work.

In September, Holland expects to open a new 86-bed home in Dierks, the first for that community.

Also, renovations valued at $575,000 are under way at Holland Retirement Center in Springdale. Rooms are being converted into suites, giving each resident private baths and bedrooms. When the work’s completed, the facility will have 20 suites.

75-acre land donation

largest gift ever for St. Mary’s

St. Mary’s Hospital in Rogers is the lucky recipient of a 75-acre tract of land, a gift valued at more than $4 million. The land was donated by Evelyn Rife, a lifelong Rogers resident who made the donation on her behalf and that of her with her late husband, John.

“My association with my dear friend, Sister Catherine Dominic, chaplain at St. Mary’s Hospital, spans many decades,” Rife said in a prepared statement. “This donation expresses our gratitude for the wonderful service the hospital has provided our community in the past.”

The acreage sits catercorner from the Village on the Creeks development at the intersection of New Hope Road and U.S. Highway 71.

Clark Ellison, executive director of development for the hospital, says the land is being appraised but its value is estimated to be more than $4 million. Although plans aren’t complete, Ellison says it’s likely a physicians’ clinic building will be constructed on the property.