Mercy Hospital Northwest Arkansas Patient Tower Expands Capacity to Serve Patients in Fast-Growing Metro Area

Construction has wrapped up on a new eight-story patient tower on the campus of Mercy Hospital Northwest Arkansas in Rogers, Arkansas. The $147-million project expands Mercy’s capacity to serve patients in one of the nation’s fastest-growing metro areas. McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. served as the project’s construction manager and general contractor.

The 275,000-square-foot new tower has added 68 new patient beds, including 17 neonatal unit beds. The project also included full renovation of the hospital’s core support services departments: materials management, central sterile, environmental services, lab and pharmacy. In addition, a two-story vertical expansion above the existing emergency department added five new operating rooms to the surgery suite.

The building’s lower three levels accommodate an operating room expansion, diagnostic facilities and other hospital support spaces. Patient rooms are housed on the facility’s upper levels, with shelled space on the 6th and 7th floors to accommodate future growth. A mechanical penthouse is located on the facility’s 8th floor.

Situated to the west of the existing hospital building, the new tower seamlessly ties in to the original structure at each level. Coordinated construction phasing enabled the building team to minimize disruption during the expansion, while enabling the renovation of each core department to increase its overall capacity and enhance patient care.

Building the new tower within the site’s tight footprint required the construction team to relocate the loading dock and key mechanical/utility components, as well as to erect a temporary loading dock facility and environmental services department to serve the hospital campus throughout construction.

Other project elements included a 9,500-square-foot addition to the north side of the existing hospital to create a new front entry and enhanced gallery space. Infrastructure improvements included expanded surface parking lots at the north end of the property and modifications to the existing entry drive areas at the north and west building elevation.

The construction team integrated advanced technology, including virtual design and construction and laser scanning, to optimize precision and efficiency.

Other project team members included Lamar Johnson Collaborative (architecture), bTME (MEP engineering), Crafton Tull (civil engineering), Toth and Associates (structural engineering) and Heideman Associates (commissioning).

Photos courtesy of Sam Fentress and McCarthy Building Companies.