HJAR Jul/Aug 2021

48 JUL / AUG 2021  I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF ARKANSAS Hospital Rounds Mercy Celebrates Completion of NewRehabilitation Hospital in Fort Smith Mercy leaders, along with local and state offi- cials, celebrated the completion of Mercy Reha- bilitation Hospital Fort Smith, a 50-bed facility that will provide care for adults recovering from stroke, neurological conditions, and more. Leaders from Mercy, Kindred Healthcare, and the Arkansas Colleges of Health Education in Fort Smith, as well as Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, U.S. Sen. John Boozman, Attorney Gen. Leslie Rutledge, Fort Smith Mayor George McGill, and others, were on hand May 21 to dedicate the new hospital, which has been under construction at 6700 Chad Colley Blvd. in Fort Smith for about 14 months. The new 62,570-square-foot facility is a joint venture between Mercy Fort Smith and Kindred Healthcare that sits on four acres of land donated by the Arkansas Colleges of Health Education (ACHE). The hospital will provide care for adults recovering from conditions such as stroke, neuro- logical disease, injury to the brain or spinal cord, and other debilitating illnesses or injuries. The first patients are expected to be seen June 1. “Mercy is so very blessed to partner with Kin- dred Healthcare and the Arkansas Colleges of Health Education,” said Juli Stec, vice president of operations at Mercy Fort Smith. “These strate- gic partnerships provide access to quality, com- passionate cost-effective rehabilitative care, while also supporting the educational advancement of future healthcare providers.” Around 140 persons will be employed at the new hospital. The facility has a hard construction cost of about $28.5 million. Kindred Healthcare will manage day-to-day operations of the hospi- tal, which is the fifth joint venture between Kin- dred and Mercy. The hospital will feature all private rooms; a secured brain injury unit with private dining and therapy gym; large interdisciplinary gyms; transi- tional living apartment, designed to simulate a residential apartment; therapeutic courtyard with golf, pickle ball, and corn hole; specially designed rooms to treat dialysis patients; and specialty pro- grams dedicated to neuro, stroke, brain injury, and amputation. The rehabilitation hospital will serve as a teach- ing site for students in ACHE’s School of Occu- pational Therapy and School of Physical Therapy. Kyle D. Parker, JD, CEO of ACHE, said the rehabil- itation hospital is a “perfect addition to the Arkan- sas Colleges of Health Education (ACHE) campus at Heritage.” “This facility will support ACHE’s mission to improve the lives of others as a valuable health care resource for our community,” Parker said. “The hospital will be ready just in time for our first class of physical therapy students to begin June 1, 2021, followed by our first class of occupa- tional therapy students in January 2022. We look forward to the exceptional training our students will receive at this outstanding rehabilitation facil- ity located right on our campus.” CHI St. Vincent Hot Springs Earns Highest Rating for Quality and Safety in Southwest Arkansas fromCenters for Medicare andMedicaid Services CHI St. Vincent Hot Springs earned a five-star overall rating for quality of care and patient safety in the latest hospital ratings from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The five- star rating is the highest rating conferred by CMS, which ranks 3,355 hospitals nationally. Leaders from Mercy, Kindred Healthcare, ACHE along with local and state officials help cut the ribbon at the new Mercy Rehabilitation Hospital Fort Smith.