NEA Baptist Health System of Jonesboro is practically finished with the construction of its 34,000-SF cancer care center.
In July, medical equipment will be moved into the building, said Brad Parsons, the CEO of NEA Baptist Memorial Hospital.
The NEA Baptist Center for Cancer Care will feature all of its cancer care services under one roof, from diagnosis to chemotherapy treatments to radiation to support for patients.
“The Cancer Center is really the first of its kind in northeast Arkansas,” Parsons said.
The center is part of NEA Baptist’s medical campus, which is also wrapping up construction. The campus features a six-story, 550,000-SF hospital and a 213,000-SF medical office building.
“The Cancer Center won’t open and see patients before the entire project is completed due to the nature of a busy construction site still very close … to where the Cancer Center is located,” Parsons said.
NEA has a target date of November to open the campus. Construction started in 2010.
Currently, NEA is hiring about 525 employees to work at the campus, which will include 400 workers at the hospitals. NEA hopes to have the staff in place by August.
The new campus will replace NEA’s 100-bed hospital, built in 1976. Hospital officials first looked at expanding the aging hospital but then figured it was cheaper to build a new one.
In addition, the new complex will feature doctors’ offices on the same floor of the inpatient hospital rooms, which “is the wave of the future for patient care because of its efficiency and responsiveness to patient needs,” NEA said on its website.