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Fort Chaffee Sees Progress At New ArcBest Headquarters, Medical School

FORT CHAFFEE (KFSM)— The Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine continues to prepare for its first group of students. The Chaffee area is busy with several pr...

FORT CHAFFEE (KFSM)— The Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine continues to prepare for its first group of students.

The Chaffee area is busy with several projects, including construction on ArcBest's new headquarters and curriculum development at the medical college that'll open next year.

Five simulators in house will give future doctors the hands on training they need before they start working with real patients.

“These adult males can portray any illness that any patient suffers from,” Dr. Natasha Bray, Associate Dean of Clinical Medicine said. “We can do anything that we could do to a person. We can run IVs. They can bleed. We can put them on breathing machines.”

A mannequin costs around $95,000, and the school’s birthing simulator named Lucy runs about $150,000. Also, a pediatric room with two other mannequins, and  an infant are all operated by computers.

“The total build out for this area is around $2.5 million,” Dr. Bray said.

The Osteopathic School will be holding an open house on August 21 from 4-7 p.m., and the public is invited to attend.

This week, the Fort Chaffee Redevelopment Authority also held the grand opening of the extension of McClure Drive to connect to Wellslake Road, as the area not only gets ready for the opening of the college, but the opening of ArcBest’s new headquarters as well.

“The city stepped up to the plate right away, and we partnered with them on that street as well as R.A. Young Drive, which is just parallel to it.” Ivy Owen said. “It's another street that doesn't go all the way through, it just goes up to ArcBest.”

Owen, the executive director of Fort Chaffee’s Redevelopment Authority said they split the $2.8 million price tag on the road projects with the City of Fort Smith.

ArcBest is set to open in the spring of 2017, and the college will welcome the first group of students next August. Enrollment is underway.

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