Mercy Fort Smith to Break Ground on New Rehabilitation Hospital

Groundbreaking for the 52,967-square-foot Mercy Rehabilitation Hospital Fort Smith will take place at 10 a.m. Feb. 12 at the facility’s construction site, 6700 Chad Colley Blvd. in Fort Smith. Mercy Fort Smith is partnering with Louisville, Ky.-based Kindred Healthcare to build the rehabilitation hospital on land donated by the Arkansas Colleges of Health Education (ACHE). The facility will be next to the Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine on the ACHE campus and serve as a teaching site for students in ACHE’s School of Occupational Therapy and School of Physical Therapy.

The new hospital will care for adults recovering from conditions such as stroke, neurological disease, injury to the brain or spinal cord and other debilitating illnesses or injuries. The 40-bed hospital will feature all private rooms; a secured brain injury unit with private dining and therapy gym; large interdisciplinary gyms; transitional living apartment, designed to simulate a residential apartment; therapeutic courtyard with golf, pickle ball and corn hole; specially designed rooms to treat dialysis patients; and specialty programs dedicated to neuro, stroke, brain injury and amputation. 

Currently, Mercy operates an Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility within Mercy Hospital Fort Smith, 7301 Rogers Ave.

“We are excited about this opportunity for Mercy Fort Smith to partner with Kindred in the continued provision of exceptional rehabilitative care to patients throughout the region,” said Juli Stec, vice president of operations for Mercy Fort Smith. “And as our partnership with ACHE continues to grow, the new hospital will provide clinical training opportunities for their physical and occupational therapy students. The new state-of-the-art facility will truly be a destination rehabilitation hospital for patients throughout the region, providing unique, customized programs to meet the needs of each and every patient.”

The facility has a hard construction cost of about $21 million. Kindred Healthcare will manage day-to-day operations of the hospital, which is expected to open in April 2021. This project represents the fourth joint venture partnership between Kindred and Mercy.

“Mercy Rehabilitation Hospital Fort Smith is designed to help patients recover from their illnesses or injuries and restore function, so they can get back to their lives,” said Russ Bailey, chief operating officer of Kindred Rehabilitation Hospitals. “Kindred and Mercy have a strong track record of success, having partnered on similar rehab hospitals in Oklahoma City, St. Louis and Springfield, Missouri. We are excited to expand our partnership with Mercy by building our first freestanding inpatient rehabilitation hospital in Arkansas.”

About Kindred Healthcare

Kindred Healthcare is one of the largest diversified providers of post-acute care services in the United States. Kindred's mission is to help our patients reach their highest potential for health and healing with intensive medical and rehabilitative care through a compassionate patient experience. Kindred Rehabilitation Services is the largest provider of rehabilitation services in the country.