Arkansas Children’s recently introduced to families a transformative milestone in its $371 million statewide expansion. The patient-focused Champions Pavilion, new lobby, and gallery at Arkansas Children’s Hospital (ACH) feature an easier outpatient surgery experience, expanded clinical research capabilities and centralized family services.
Champions Pavilion, a 157,000-square-foot, three-story facility, was designed to emphasize a family’s perspective and needs, and engineered to solve capacity constraints while providing families with a stress-free experience that prioritizes their time and their child’s comfort.
The new lobby and gallery bring essential family services to the front of the hospital, creating an experience that’s easier to navigate. Designers added arching butterfly sculptures, symbolizing a patient’s journey.
“This expansion is a welcoming new front door for our entire system,” said Arkansas Children’s President and CEO Marcy Doderer. “By streamlining access, we are delivering an experience that minimizes wait times and replaces uncertainty with peace of mind. It is a privilege to pair our clinical expertise with the most sophisticated, contemporary approaches to care. We aren’t simply opening a building; we are inviting our community into the future of the patient experience.”
To date, the Arkansas Children’s Foundation has raised over $35 million for ACH’s expansion, anchored by lead gifts from B. Thomas Golisano and the Arkansas Children’s Hospital Auxiliary.
From valet parking and seamless check-in to a café located directly in the waiting area, Champions Pavilion is designed to make care easier for families. The facility introduces a “one-stop shop” model for the state’s only nationally ranked pediatric orthopedics program and a leap forward in clinical research and surgical efficiency.
Key features of the Three-Story Expansion include an increase from 16 to 26 exam rooms, featuring eight individual casting rooms and three on-site X-ray/EOS imaging suites; rehab space complete with a turf field, track, and regulation wooden basketball court to help young athletes return to play safely; an advanced outpatient surgery facility featuring eight operating rooms with ability to expand; post-op recovery areas offering increased privacy with walled spaces; a state-of-the-art Pediatric Clinical Research Unit (PCRU) featuring up to 16 private rooms and a dedicated food allergy prep kitchen, allowing Arkansas families to access emerging treatments — including gene therapy and new biologics for asthma and allergies — years before they reach the general market; and a new 5,000-square-foot automated lab that drastically reduces wait times for critical diagnoses.
While Champions Pavilion hosts outpatients at Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock, the system-wide expansion also includes a 72,000-square-foot addition at Arkansas Children’s Northwest (ACNW) in Springdale, scheduled to open in phases through this fall. The hospital will expand to 40 inpatient beds to support growing demand in northwest Arkansas.
Within two years of completing the expansion, the number of expert providers is expected to grow by 40% at ACH and 70% at ACNW.