Northwest Medical Center – Bentonville Celebrates 20 Year Anniversary
5/10/2023
It doesn’t seem that long ago when Northwest Medical Center – Bentonville (NMC-B) opened its doors in May 2003 carrying on the tradition set forth by the former Bates Medical Center, which was established in 1942. Constructed as an ultramodern replacement hospital for Bates, NMC-B opened 20 years ago at a cost of $41.4 million.
NMC-B soon became a leader in healthcare technology as one of the first hospitals in the state of Arkansas to have a fully digital medical imaging system for the electronic capture, storage and sharing of medical images. It also introduced Benton County’s first 64-slice CT scanner and first CT angiography services – providing a non-invasive means of producing highly detailed, 3D imaging of the heart and coronary arteries.
In the past 20 years, NMC-B introduced a number of groundbreaking surgeries to our region, from new and robotic-assisted orthopedic procedures to an advanced ablation procedure to correct atrial fibrillation. Most recently the hospital added:
- Left atrial appendage closure (LAAC), a treatment strategy to reduce the risk of left atrial appendage blood clots from entering the bloodstream and causing a stroke in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation
- A minimally-invasive bronchoscopy procedure for biopsies of the lung
- 3D mammography technology
- Treatment of lower urinary tract symptoms for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH)
Over the years, the hospital has grown from its initial capacity of 91 licensed beds to its current capacity of 128 and is the second-largest facility in the Northwest Health system.
“We’re delighted to be part of this milestone at Northwest Medical Center – Bentonville,” said Chris Blair, interim chief executive officer at NMC-B. “What makes this anniversary so special is that not only does it fall in the middle of Hospital Week, but we have more than 20 team members who were here when the hospital first opened in 2003.”
Some of those team members spoke during the anniversary celebration on May 10. The City of Bentonville’s Mayor Stephanie Orman also gave a short presentation in addition to Blair.
“One of our main focal points in healthcare is how can we take care of our community – our family and our friends who rely on us when they need medical care,” Blair said. “Our community is the core of our existence. And this community has really opened its arms and embraced us throughout the years. We are so grateful for that.”
To learn more about NMC-B, visit us online at NorthwestHealth.com.
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