Pediatrics Plus announced Tuesday its acquisition of Helping Hand Children’s Center in North Little Rock, effective Jan. 1.
The 20,000-SF facility at 4901 Northshore Drive in North Little Rock will be the sixth in the state for Pediatrics Plus, which also has locations in Arkadelphia, Conway, Little Rock, Russellville and Sherwood. It also has one out-of-state location in Frisco, Texas.
“Pediatrics Plus is excited to join the Maumelle business community and be given the chance to serve even more children in central Arkansas,” Amy Denton, co-owner of Pediatrics Plus, said a news release. “We’re looking forward to renovating a portion of the facility to accommodate additional classrooms, an innovative Activities of Daily Living suite, playground and equipment.”
Helping Hand Owners Johnny and Julia Washburn said in the release, “When making the decision to retire after 30 years, it was very important to us to find a provider who could continue the Helping Hand legacy and build on our efforts. We are confident Pediatrics Plus will be a great fit and will continue to provide quality services to the children.”
Co-owner Todd Denton told Arkansas Business late Tuesday that the Washburns called Pediatrics Plus early this year to discuss the sale. “It was an honor that they chose to call us,” he said. “We thought it was a great fit. It was in the footprint of where we operate … We were already doing a lot of business with people in that Maumelle-North Little Rock area.”
Todd Denton also said Pediatrics Plus will go through a transition plan over the next year and renovate the center to add classrooms and therapy space. It will also add ABA services for autistic children and “substainsially” expand its outpatient therapy offerings.
The center has about 25 employees now, and he expects 50-70 will eventually work there.
The Helping Hand preschool has about 100 kids enrolled; that will go up to 130-140 under the guidance of Pediatrics Plus, Todd Denton said. He also said the outpatient side will eventually see 400-500 kids a week.
Helping Hand was founded in 1990 and added a preschool in 1998. The location will continue to serve children through that preschool by offering outpatient, occupational, physical and speech therapy, and Applied Behavior Analysis services.
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