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Horton Family Gives $1M to Arkansas Children’s Northwest

2 min read

Karen and Darren Horton of northwest Arkansas, grandparents of a former Arkansas Children’s patient, are giving $1 million to the construction of Arkansas Children’s Northwest.

“When a place like Arkansas Children’s Hospital treats you so well in such a dire situation, you can’t help but love them back,” Karen Horton said in a news release. “We want to make the burden of having a child in the hospital easier on other parents and grandparents. We’ve been blessed, so it’s our responsibility to give back to others.”

The Hortons’ grandson, Brayden Wiley, was born with a life-threatening heart condition. When he was only a few days old, an Angel One helicopter flew him to Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock, where he spent five weeks in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. He is now 7 years old and healthy.

Darren Horton is CEO of Premier Concepts, which provides nationwide sales, analytics and merchandising services to the region’s vendor community. Karen and Darren also own Horton Farms at Dry Creek, an event and retreat center 10 miles outside Bentonville.

A week ago, Premier Concepts gave $1 million to the new hospital.

“When we heard that there are 200,000 kids in the region who will benefit from having care close to home at Arkansas Children’s Northwest, we realized this was something we wanted to support,” Darren Horton said. “This local children’s hospital will make a big difference for so many families. We hope our participation will inspire others to join the efforts to get this hospital built.”

The northwest Arkansas community has pledged $29.5 million to date for the construction of ACNW. Walmart and Walmart Foundation donated $8 millionJ.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. donated $5 million; Will Golf 4 Kids and Color of Hope event committed $5 million over the next five years; the estate of Mildred and Jarrell Gray gave $1 million; and Cynthia and Kirk Dupps gave $1 million.

The hospital announced plans for the new facility in August. Plans include 233,613 SF of inpatient beds, emergency care, diagnostic services and clinical space. The campus will also include walking trails, gardens and a helipad and refueling station.

The hospital is being designed by Polk Stanley Wilcox Architects of Fayetteville and Little Rock and FKP Architects of Houston. Nabholz Construction of Conway is overseeing construction. The hospital is scheduled to open in January 2018. 

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