WEST MEMPHIS – In September 2014 when Crittenden Regional Hospital closed, it was a major blow, not only to healthcare access, but also to the local economy.

“More than 400 people lost their jobs when the hospital closed,” said Aaron Mitchell, MD, MBA, Mitchell Family Medicine, Marion. “A lot of physicians left our county. Many specialists left, and many primary care doctors left. They sought jobs somewhere else. Those of us who remained have more of a burden to take care of the patients, and it has put a strain on the healthcare community as a whole, and a strain on patients to find healthcare on this side of the bridge in Arkansas. Almost no easy access to easy medical care and services has caused many to suffer unnecessarily. The hospital closure was a horrible tragedy, not only in the lives of our patients, but our clinic suffered greatly from it.”

One example is there isn’t even a CT scanner or other equipment needed for emergencies in the entire county.

“God forbid there is a tragic accident on the bridge to Memphis,” Mitchell said. “We fear people would lose their lives due to lack of access to medical care. I am absolutely thrilled that Baptist is coming. There is a huge need for emergency services and for short-term hospital stays on this side of the bridge.”

Memphis-based Baptist Memorial Health Care and Crittenden County officials broke ground in September on the new, Baptist Memorial Hospital-Crittenden County. Baptist will be responsible for the day-to-day hospital operations and will employ the facility’s staff.

Edward G. Bryant Jr., MD, an ophthalmologist with the West Memphis Eye Center and past president of Arkansas Medical Society, said the new hospital is positive overall for the community.

“Closing of the old hospital has hurt the community,” Bryant said. “It is particularly difficult for elderly patients. It is extremely hard on the nursing homes, and we have a pretty big nursing home population in West Memphis. Nursing home residents often need to go to the hospital for short stays. Going to Methodist University Central for common community-based urinary tract infections or pneumonia is difficult for families. These are big hospitals where parking is hard and there is a lot of traffic congestion.”

Methodist University Central is the closest hospital to West Memphis, but Bryant pointed out that while it doesn’t look that far away on a map, it can take quite a while because of traffic congestion. And it can take an hour or longer for patients who might go to the Memphis hospitals farther away including Baptist DeSoto, Methodist North and Baptist East.

“Another problem is that ambulance systems are over-burdened because of the need to make runs into Memphis,” Bryant said. “Ambulances are tied up over there loading and unloading. And when they are in Memphis, they aren’t here.”

Bryant said many doctors are disappointed that the new hospital won’t provide obstetric services.

“But they said over time, if they can show a need for obstetrics, they will probably incorporate it,” Bryant said.

Brian Welton, who has been named the CEO and administrator of Baptist Memorial Hospital-Crittenden County, said in addition to a $25-million investment paid for by the taxpayers, Baptist is also making a large investment in the project.

“We paid for the property and will likely use existing equipment from other facilities like Baptist Memorial Hospital-North Mississippi in Oxford to help reduce some of the expenses,” Welton said. “The hospital will have an emergency room (ER), inpatient beds, cancer services, diagnostic imaging, a lab, etc. We are estimating around 23,000 visits to the ER per year. This can provide life-saving intervention, along with more basic emergency services to this community.”

Welton said they are excited to bring this vital component of healthcare back to

Crittenden County.

“During the next two years, we will partner with local officials, physicians and community members to help build a hospital this community can be proud of and rely on to provide high quality care closer to home,” Welton said.

“Crittenden County taxpayers voted to approve an existing one percent, five-year sales tax to build the hospital. Taxes are expected to generate about $25 million. Since money is needed now for construction, the county is taking out $25 million in bonds to pay for construction. Welton said if tax revenue exceeds that amount at the end of five years, those funds will be used to pay for equipment and other expenses.

The 50,000-square-foot hospital is expected to open in early-to-mid 2018. Crittenden County has a population of about 51,000 with about 25,545 of those located in West Memphis.

Baptist Memorial Health Care system is one of the largest not-for-profit healthcare systems in the country with 17 affiliate hospitals in the Mid-South and more than 3,000 affiliated physicians. Baptist employs more than 14,000 healthcare professionals, has more than 2,300 licensed beds system wide and has approximately 85,000 admissions annually.

Photo notes: Brian Welton, drawing of new hospital, Aaron Mitchell, (Edward Bryant we should still have on file from an earlier PS profile)