JONESBORO – St. Bernards Medical Center celebrated the completion of a $7 million surgery expansion adding three new surgical suites and shell space for a fourth.

The expansion marks the first major surgery investment since 2019, when the hospital opened a 245,000-square-foot Surgical and Intensive Care tower. With the additional surgical suites, St. Bernards has access to nearly 30 hospital and outpatient-based surgery rooms that house numerous surgical specialties.

Joshua Tolleson, M.D., Chief of Surgery at St. Bernards, said the hospital performs about 10,000 surgical procedures each year.

“We have a growing need for more surgery space, especially as our population ages and we see more elective procedures,” Dr. Tolleson said. “These new operating rooms enhance our capability to perform a large variety of cases with the latest technology available.”

That technology includes robotic surgery options, where St. Bernards Medical Center remains a leader in the state of Arkansas with its advanced options. The new suites give surgeons more rooms to perform these innovative procedures. Of note, robotic surgery can help surgeons operate with even higher precision, which in turn, may allow patients to heal faster with less pain and scarring.

Still, Connie Hill, St. Bernards Vice President of Surgery, Emergency and Heart Care Services, said additional space and technology mean little without an expert, cohesive team to use them.

“We have an incredible surgical team who can perform whatever procedure our patients need,” Hill said. “These new, state-of-the art surgical rooms complement what they already do, and they give our patients better access to receive care.”

Generous donations, including those made by one of the hospital’s largest volunteer groups, St. Bernards Advocates, helped offset the project’s overall cost. St. Bernards Medical Center Administrator Michael Givens called the opening a “community project.”

“While St. Bernards is a healthcare leader regionally, at the state level, and even nationally and globally in certain areas, we could not accomplish any of what we do without the continued support here at home,” Givens said. “Our mission for nearly 125 years has been to serve whoever needs our help. Today is an exciting day, and we owe our gratitude to this community and the support it gives us.