Springdale Hospital Makes ?Midnight Run?

At midnight on Sept. 15, all of the Northwest Medical Center of Washington County’s obstetrical services were to have moved to Willow Creek Women’s Hospital in Johnson. Northwest, owned by publicly traded Triad Health Partners Inc. of Dallas, purchased the 98,000-SF Willow Creek on July 1.

All expectant mothers planning to give birth at Northwest in Springdale who go into labor after midnight on Sept. 15 will need to go to the Johnson facility.

Bill Bradley, CEO of the $161 million Northwest Health System Inc. — which operates the Springdale hospital and Bentonville’s Northwest Medical Center of Benton County — has declined to comment on Willow Creek’s purchase price. But the deal included Willow Creek’s real estate and the ownership interest of its former manager Medisphere Inc. of Nashville, Tenn.

Obstetric services have been retained at the Bentonville hospital.

A spokesman for Northwest said the system is not yet sure how the space being freed up in Springdale will be used. The hospitals neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is staying at Northwest Medical Center of Washington County for now, but will also be moved to Willow Creek when space becomes available.

Northwest’s NICU serves newborns with serious medical conditions from a 90-mile radius of the facility.

Northwest also recently announced the opening of its Northwest Senior Health Center in Fayetteville. The system already has senior clinics in Springdale, Bella Vista and Bentonville. Those facilities all serve patients aged 65 and older.