FORT SMITH, Ark. — On April 10, officials with the Mercy Hospital in Fort Smith gathered to celebrate the continued construction of an expanded emergency room (ER) and Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
The final support beam, signed by healthcare workers, was put in place while topped with an evergreen tree, a tradition dating back hundreds of years to Scandinavia.
The emergency wing is set to expand from 29 rooms to 50 with the new space, and the ICU will go from 38 to 64, allowing for the treatment of around 25,000 more patients per year, according to a statement from Mercy.
"Mercy serves one purpose, giving back to the community ... Many health systems exist to increase shareholder values. Our shareholders are the communities," said the President of Mercy Arkansas Ryan Gehrig.
The former president and CEO of Mercy Fort Smith, Sister Judith Keith was also in attendance, and Gehrig spoke to her directly when he said, "The ER and ICU you designed 50 years ago has served us incredibly well ... We’re building upon the vision you had to move this entire campus here."
"It's unbelievable to be here, and at this point, it’s almost a reality ... It’s going to fundamentally change the way we provide care for our patients," said Chief Medical Officer at Mercy Fort Smith Dr. Paul Bean. "Our physicians, our nurses, our staff, they do a tremendous job caring for patients, and this will allow them to do it in a first-class facility."
Mercy Fort Smith expanding ICU and ER
The construction is reportedly using:
- 450,000 square feet of flat-finished concrete
- 25 miles’ worth of rebar support
- 300 tons of structural steel
- 284 miles of electrical wiring
- Three miles of groundwater piping
The expansion costs around $186 million and should be finished in Spring 2025, according to Mercy.
Watch 5NEWS on YouTube.
Download the 5NEWS app on your smartphone:
Stream 5NEWS 24/7 on the 5+ app: How to watch the 5+ app on your streaming device
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email KFSMDigitalTeam@tegna.com and detail which story you're referring to.