Arkansas Children’s Hospital Northwest construction project will receive an $8 million gift from Walmart and Walmart Foundation, the hospital announced today.
The gift, which is one of the largest ever made to health care by Walmart or Walmart Foundation, will help bring expert pediatric care for the more than 200,000 children who live in Northwest Arkansas.
“We are proud to be investing in the health and wellness of families and children in Northwest Arkansas,” said Kathleen McLaughlin, chief sustainability officer at Walmart and president of the Walmart Foundation. “Walmart is committed to strengthening the local communities in which we operate, and having a children’s hospital in this region is a huge step forward.”
In August 2015, Arkansas Children’s Hospital announced plans to build a children’s hospital in Springdale on land donated by Robin and Gary George, Cathy and David Evans and their families.
Current plans for Arkansas Children’s Northwest include 233,613 square feet of inpatient beds, emergency care, diagnostic services and clinical space. The campus will include walking trails, gardens and a helipad and refueling station.
“This transformational gift to Arkansas Children’s Northwest will help us fulfill our mission to champion children by making them better today and healthier tomorrow,” said Marcy Doderer, president and CEO of Arkansas Children’s Hospital. “We are extremely grateful to Walmart and Walmart Foundation for this historic gift and their ongoing support.”
In 2014, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation gave $1.4 billion in cash and in-kind donations. The Walmart Foundation directs its charitable giving toward three focus areas: opportunity, sustainability and community.
The $8 million gift toward the construction project is above and beyond the money raised for Arkansas Children’s through Walmart’s annual in-store campaigns in conjunction with Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. Walmart and Sam’s Club employees in Arkansas help raise more than $1 million annual in support of the people, programs and places of Arkansas Children’s Hospital.
Arkansas Children’s Northwest is being designed by Polk Stanley Wilcox Architects of Fayetteville and Little Rock, and FKP Architects of Houston, Texas. The hospital is scheduled to open in January 2018.
