LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A multimillion-dollar expansion is now underway for Arkansas Children's campuses both in Little Rock and in Northwest Arkansas.
Health system leaders said this project aims to improve pediatric healthcare in the state.
"It has always been our mission to make children better today and healthier tomorrow," said Ashlie Hilbun, Arkansas Children's Chief Strategy Officer.
Now, thanks to more than 300 million dollars worth of expansions, she said that goal is easier to achieve.
"This is as much about program development and being able to recruit some of the country's leading specialists over the next eight years, as it is about facilities that will support that program development over the long term," Hilbun said.
If you've visited the hospital this week you've probably seen all the signs.
That's because they're building almost 200,000 square feet of new space to support an ambulatory surgery center and other clinics.
Another part of the plan includes adding 400 new employees and at least a hundred new providers and physicians.
"Those are the physicians that will lead our clinical development or clinical trials, our research endeavors. And obviously, as we continue to develop treatments and programs will offer those over the course of the time too," she explained.
Hilbun also explained how adding hundreds of new team members could also speed up your future hospital visits.
"This is as much about the clinical expansion as it is about the family experience. But at the end of the day, this really is about seamless care, less worrying, and shorter wait times," she added.
In the long term, she said her goal is to continue delivering quality pediatric healthcare in the years to come.
"We're leading the country in the ways that we provide care. And we need to do more of that over the course of the next decade. This will absolutely in addition to great facilities, allow us to do that," she explained.
As for the expansion's timeline, Arkansas Children's is already one year into the eight-year project. Hilbun said the first phase will open in May of 2026.
For more information about the project's progress, please click here.