Mercy Hospital Ozark broke ground Thursday on a $5.13 million expansion that will add services, equipment and 14,759 SF to its campus in Ozark.
The expansion is expected to be completed by November 2019. Franklin County is funding $1.47 million of the project's cost.
“This expansion project is significant in the face of rural hospitals struggling across America,” Ryan Gehrig, president of Mercy Hospital Fort Smith, said in a news release. “For us to be celebrating this groundbreaking in a rural community is very uncommon and a testament to the partnership and trust that Mercy has developed with Ozark. We couldn’t do this without the community’s support.”
The project will involve tearing down and rebuilding the east side of the complex that was built in 1952 and was once home to administration offices, physical therapy and the county health department clinic. All have moved to a new location.
The expansion will feature new physical therapy space, new equipment and room for additional outpatient services, such as cardiac rehabilitation. During construction, physical therapy and administration offices will be relocated to the medical-surgical area of the hospital.
Studio 6 Architects in Fort Smith designed the project. The general contractor is SSI of Fort Smith, and Black Hills Energy donated $25,000 to the expansion.
“The expansion will provide additional access to care for our community as it grows,” Teresa Williams, regional administrator for Mercy, said in the release.
