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

A rendering of the future Arkansas Children's Northwest hospital in Springdale.

Kirk and Cynthia Dupps have donated $1 million to the construction of Arkansas Children’s Northwest, which opens in 2018, the Arkansas Children’s Hospital announced Monday.

In 2014, the couple’s grandson Jimi was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia. Jimi and his parents spent more than 100 days at Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock. Jimi is now in remission and ready to begin kindergarten in August.

“We know as a family how badly our area needs a children’s hospital,” Kirk Dupps said in a news release. “Jimi and his parents KC and Josef faced a three-hour trip to Little Rock for his chemo treatments and care. A children’s hospital that can be reached in minutes, versus hours, which means a better quality of life for so many families.”

The Duppses are now chairing the annual Color of Hope Gala on Friday, Aug. 5 at the John Q. Hammons Center in Rogers to support the hospital, under construction in Springdale.

Kirk Dupps is a former senior vice president of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., a former chairman of the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission and was among the founders of Community First Bank, White River Bancshares and The Signature Bank of Arkansas.

“Arkansas Children’s is grateful to Kirk, Cynthia, KC and Josef for their leadership and for their dedication to providing a healthier tomorrow for the children in the state,” said Fred Scarborough, president of the nonprofit Arkansas Children’s Hospital Foundation. “This gift will ensure children in northwest Arkansas have excellent pediatric care close to home, because all children need Children’s.”

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.

To date, the northwest Arkansas community has pledged $27.5 million for the hospital’s construction, including $8 million from Wal-Mart Stores Inc. of Bentonville and the Walmart Foundation and $5 million from J.B. Hunt Transport Services of Lowell.

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