St. Bernards Healthcare announces a $130 million expansion in downtown Jonesboro. The Master plan will be done in four phases. The plans include the Ben E. Owens Cancer Treatment Center and the Heartcare Center---the center will be named after a former president and CEO of St. Bernards. Also included in the expansion is the construction of a new surgical and intensive care tower and a new emergency department configuration. The plans also call for renovation and refurbishing of the present medical center structure, including patient rooms. Current President and Chief Executive Officer Chris Barber tells how this will impact health care in Jonesboro.
“This is really going to step up our intensive care services. We are currently limited by our capabilities and this will give us more than adequate services that can help serve the community. There will also be the possibility of future expansion in this model.”
He says that is important in an area of Arkansas that has a sees a host of medical issues and disparities.
“We are 48th in the nation when it comes to health outcomes, especially in morbidity and mortality. This will help us as we continue to look out how we can help improve the overall health of the region.”
The first phase of the project consists of the construction of the $9 million cancer center. This is expected to be completed by next October. The second phase will start in the spring and will include changes at the Heartcare Center. That will include new hybrid and cath labs, as well as expansion of invasive services and a 30-unit patient prep and recovery area and a separate waiting area. That project is expected to be about $8 million and will be completed in the winter of 2017. The third phase will include a new “front door” of St. Bernards that can be viewed from Washington Street. The $75 million dollar project will include a 245-thousand square foot, five-story surgical and intensive care tower. The tower will include 14 surgical suites, a 40-bed critical care unit, and a helipad at the top of the tower. The work on the tower is expected to begin in 2017 and will be completed in the winter of 2018/2019. The final phase will include renovations within the present medical center. The overall project will be built by Nabholz Construction. At least 25-percent of the price tag will be financed through First Security Bank. A video of what the new facility will look like was shown to the media. Afterward, Barber talked about the new facilities.
“We will have first-class facilities, but we are in the business of taking care of people. These new facilities will allow us to provide the best care to the community.”
Barber estimates that 150 to 200 construction jobs will be created as a result of the project. St. Bernards employs three-thousand people currently, but Barber said it was too early to tell how many additional healthcare jobs this announcement would bring.
