On Nov. 16, 1996, the Cleburne County Hospital – the original hospital in Heber Springs – officially became Baptist Health Medical Center-Heber Springs and the fifth hospital in the Baptist Health healthcare system.
To celebrate twenty years of quality care and compassionate service to residents in the surrounding area, BHMC-Heber Springs is hosting a community-wide drop-in reception Wednesday, Nov. 16, from 2 to 6 p.m. in the hospital’s cafeteria. Hospital leadership will be on hand and refreshments will be served. Everyone is invited to attend.
When Cleburne County Hospital opened in 1968, it was a 36-bed acute-care facility. After it became part of the Baptist Health family in 1996, it had 49 beds featuring a medical staff of six active members and 28 consulting physicians. The hospital offered and continues to offer a broad range of radiology and laboratory diagnostic services, home health services, a full-service emergency department, and surgery.
Then on June 28, 2007, the hospital moved into its new 64,100-square-foot facility located in the midst of the Ozark foothills with a picturesque backdrop of Sugar Loaf Mountain at 1800 Bypass Road. The state-of-the-art facility included an expanded emergency department, an expanded operating suite, a centralized outpatient clinic, in-house MRI services, a second covered entrance, a larger cafeteria, and updated inpatient rooms.
Ed Lacy, vice president of BHMC-Heber Springs, said that being a part of the community has been a very gratifying experience.
“It’s so important that our community has access to convenient, quality and life-saving hospital care,” said Lacy. “We serve roughly a six-county area and in many instances, the time it takes to get to a hospital is a real factor in whether a patient recovers or survives.”
“But another reason our hospital is so important to Heber Springs is for the economic development and well-being of the city. Any time you have businesses looking to locate to an area, one of the things they always look for is access to top-notch healthcare,” he added.