Work to start on Bryant medical center

Arkansas Heart Hospital’s 24-bed operation expected to open in 2020

Construction will begin on a new hospital in Bryant set to open in the latter half of 2020.

Arkansas Heart Hospital's Encore Medical Center will specialize in cardiac care, bariatrics and peripheral artery disease, which is a hardening of the arteries in the extremities. It initially will have 24 beds, with plans to expand to 100 beds, said hospital President and COO Drew Jackson.

The four-story hospital also will treat acute illnesses, operate an emergency department with 16 bays and offer specialty services including primary care at an adjacent campus.

This is the second major facility for the Little Rock-based hospital system, which also runs 30 clinics statewide. It's being built to accommodate what Jackson describes as "exponential growth" for the heath care group, especially within its bariatric surgery department.

Bryant was selected as the location because it's located in a fast-growing area of the state.

"It was a natural choice," hospital Chief Executive Dr. Bruce Murphy said in a news release. "Saline County has been the home to our Benton Clinic for many, many years. ... I am delighted at the decision to expand there."

Jackson said the hospital also will "inch further down the road" toward southern Arkansas, where he says residents sometimes can be hesitant to drive into Little Rock to receive care.

The hospital will be located between Interstate 30 and Arkansas 5 in Bryant, which Jackson says is near a growing medical district. Existing providers nearby include dentists, orthodontists, optometrists and an orthopedic surgery clinic.

In the first phase of its opening, the hospital will create 250 jobs, which will be staffed with a mix of system employees and new hires, a spokesman said. An assessment of the hospital's expected economic impact was not immediately available Tuesday.

Jackson declined to provide an estimate of the for-profit facility's total cost, which is being covered by a mix of private investment and financing.

Arkansas Heart Hospital's main campus opened in 1997 and has 200 beds.

Metro on 11/14/2018

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