New facility adds to mental health options in NWA
Posted on Thursday, October 2, 2008
The competition among mental health facilities is heating up in Northwest Arkansas with Springwoods Behavioral Health building a new 80-bed facility in Fayetteville.
Fayetteville Mayor Dan Coody and chamber and business leaders welcomed Springwoods officials to Northwest Arkansas during a groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday morning.
Construction is underway on this twostory facility scheduled for completion in mid-summer 2009. It is located behind Fayetteville's Sam's Club at the intersection of Garland Avenue and Interstate 540 and is adjacent to the 123-acre Audubon wildlife and bird sanctuary.
Springwoods Behavioral Health will feature a 58, 000-square-foot private psychiatric hospital on a 6-acre campus and will employ 150 people. Springwoods will provide a variety of mental health services for adults, adolescents and children, officials said.
Springwoods is owned and operated by Universal Health Services which also owns and operates The BridgeWay in North Little Rock and Rivendell Behavioral Health Services of Arkansas in Benton. Universal operates inpatient and outpatient facilities in 32 states and Puerto Rico. Springwoods will provide psychiatric treatment for children, adolescents and adults, as well as treatment for chemical dependence of illegal drugs, said Barry Pipkin, divisional vice president for Universal. The facility plans to provide about 20 beds for each of these four programs, he said. Pipkin said the facility has been designed so that it can be expanded to include an additional 40 beds in the future as needed.
Adjacent to Audubon The company's decision to locate in Fayetteville was apparently influenced by the scenic beauty of the site which is bordered on the south and east by the Audubon property. "We could not have found a better site for people trying to get their lives together," Pipkin said. "That's one of the things that appealed to us. "Pipkin said the facility hopes to add a walking trail near the edge of the Audubon property. Coody said that this development will be very beneficial for everyone in Fayetteville and Northwest Arkansas. He praised the facility's choice of location. "This is another example why Fayetteville is growing in ways that other cities are not able to," Coody said. "What a beautiful site you have chosen," said Bill Ramsey, president of the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce.
Competition The new Springwoods facility will compete with Vista Health's larger, established facility in Fayetteville, which has 96 beds for inpatient care. Vista officials provided the number of beds at their facility but did not respond to requests for comment on Springwoods' new facility. "It'll bring some competition. Competition is good," Pipkin said in an interview. The Springwoods facility will also compete with the new 29-bed facility planned at Northwest Medical Center under a coalition with the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Psychiatric Institute and other organizations that is scheduled to open in early 2009.
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