Saline Memorial Hospital has been providing health care services to the community for almost 60 years. The hospital’s stated vision is to “remain the preferred health care provider for Saline County and surrounding areas by developing new services and creating ways to make quality health care convenient.”
In keeping with that vision, Saline Memorial
Hospital recently announced plans for a new health care campus in Bryant.
“Three years ago, we conducted a community needs assessment and determined a need for more services in the Bryant market,” said Bob Trautman, Saline Memorial Hospital CEO. He said the plan is to consolidate the hospital’s two clinics that are already in existence in Bryant into one central location and to expand services from there.
Saline Memorial Hospital has acquired property in Bryant near the intersection of Market Place Drive and Arkansas 5, just north of Ashley Furniture Home Store and the Walmart Supercenter. The Saline Memorial Bryant Medical Campus will be built around an existing 5-acre lake that will be developed with walking paths and pavilions for use by employees, patients and families.
Trautman said the outpatient campus will be in constant development and expansion as the hospital leadership team works through a phased plan that will take up to 10 years to complete, taking into consideration the hospital’s existing leases.
Site work is underway for a 16,000-square-foot medical office building that will house the already-existing Central Arkansas Women’s Group and the Bryant Medical Clinic.
“That should be ready in about nine months,” Trautman said. “Then there will be an outpatient surgery center that will follow in another six to eight months.
“Consolidation of services like physical therapy and imaging services will make care more accessible and user-friendly for our patients. We’re bringing in new services, as well, in an effort to make the experience as positive and complete as possible.
“The intent is to develop a centralized location for SMH services in Bryant and to build an identity as the leading health care provider in the county.”
Trautman said there is no plan at this time to build an acute-care facility at the Bryant location.
He said Saline Memorial Hospital is a full-service, 177-bed nonprofit community hospital. It will celebrate its 60th anniversary in June.
“I’d like to brag about us a little,” Trautman said with a smile.
“We just recently received the Healthgrades 2015 Patient Safety Excellence Award. This is the third year in a row we have received the award.
“We are really proud of it,” he said, “not just because of the recognition but because it shows we’re serious about patient care and providing the best outcomes for our patients.”
Information from Rebecca Jones, director of marketing and community relations at the hospital, said the award honors hospital performance in the prevention of serious, potentially preventable complications during hospital stays. This distinction places Saline Memorial Hospital in the top 5 percent of hospitals in the nation for its excellent performance as evaluated by Healthgrades, an online resource for comprehensive information about physicians and hospitals.
The Arkansas Stroke Registry and the Arkansas Department of Health also recently cited Saline Memorial Hospital for outstanding stroke-care performance.
For more information on Saline Memorial Hospital, visit salinememorial.org.