Hot Springs project a result Capella Healthcare reinvestment

HOT SPRINGS—An expansion of the National Park Medical Center (NPMC) that is expected cost in the range of $30 to $35 million over the next three years will create the area’s first stand-alone Heart Center of Excellence.

“The expansion will provide folks with immediate, greater access to an excellent cardiology program,” said Jerry Mabry, president of Capella Healthcare’s Arkansas Market. Capella, based in Franklin, Tenn., is the owner of NPMC. “In fact, I feel it’s the best cardiology program in this region.”

A groundbreaking for the project was held Nov. 18, 2014, for the 67,000-square-foot expansion that will include renovations and additional space for the existing emergency department, in addition to the Heart Center. The expansion is located on about nine acres of land west of the current hospital between Hollywood Avenue and the Hot Springs Country Club golf course.

NPMC has added two interventional cardiologists to their staff in the past year.

The expansion won’t increase the number of beds at NPMC from the current 166, but will specialize those beds, particularly in the area of cardiology.

Mabry said the expansion demonstrates that NPMC is being a good steward in the way it approach the healthcare delivery system with the emphasis on making life better for local residents.

“We have a large compliment of specialists, physicians, and hospital personnel who dedicate their lives to being better and providing better care for you and the public,” Mabry said. “We have been extremely appreciative of the outpouring of support from physicians, patients and the community, especially in the past year and a half. We have been very busy continuing to pursue our mission of what’s required to deliver the very best short and long-term healthcare solutions to this region. Our commitment to this process has never wavered and is stronger today than ever.”

Mabry said the project is a benefit of the policy of Capella Healthcare to reinvest 100 percent of its excess cash flow back into its hospitals in the form of equipment and expansions, which ultimately builds better healthcare for the community.

The new addition’s location will be accessible from Hollywood Avenue, and the Heart Center will have its own separate entrance. The Heart Center will include a new waiting area, four state-of-the-art cardiac catheterization labs, a pre and post-op area, an eight-bed cardiovascular intensive care unit, and a high-tech cardiac rehabilitation and physical therapy department.

“We are proud of the progress and improvements that NPMC continues to make to the healthcare climate of Hot Springs,” said Joe Dierks, chairman of the NPMC Board and CEO of Greenleaf Financial. “The hospital’s leadership is committed to continuously increasing the healthcare services and specialists available in the Hot Springs community.”

Dierks said the project will ultimately mean more and better healthcare services available to the community, more jobs available to area residents, and a financial stimulus to the area.

The NPMC slogan is, “Caring Comes First. Always.”

“It’s the level of individualized care and dedication to each individual patient’s well-being that really sets this facility apart from the others,” Dierks said. “They always put the patient first, and that is why this expansion is so important. By streamlining the emergency department, and making all the Heart Center of Excellence services located in one convenient location, the patient experience will be even more improved, making the care process even better for patients.”

The increased space for the emergency department will ultimately lead to a more streamlined experience for the patient, as well as the hospital’s nurses and physicians, said Mandy Golleher, NPMC director of marketing and volunteer services.

The new Heart Center is designed to have a separate entrance primarily for an efficient workflow for patients, physicians and guests.

“The stand-alone Heart Center of Excellence will allow for all of NPMC’s heart services to be housed in the same area, as well as increased access for NPMC’s continually growing heart and vascular program,” Golleher said. “It means that all of our cardiac-focused services and procedures will be located in one area, which is connected directly to the Emergency Department. So if I am having a heart attack and I go to the emergency department, I can be quickly transported into the state of the art cardiac cath labs, then to the post-cath procedure area, then to the cardiovascular ICU if necessary.”

Additionally, the cardiac rehabilitation facility will be located in the same building, so patients will know that if they are coming in for anything heart-related, they will go to the Heart Center entrance at NPMC. NPMC is a referral center for a large surrounding area, including Garland, Polk, Grant, Hot Spring, Clark and Montgomery counties.

Jim Fram, president and CEO of The Greater Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce, said healthcare is one of the targeted industries the chamber works to attract.

“They continue to be one of Hot Springs’ and Garland County’s and the region’s largest employers,” Fram said.

Earl Swensson Associates are the architects for the project. B&F Engineering is the engineering firm on the project, and the contractor is CDI Contractors. The project is planned for completion in early 2016.