Northwest Health System will soon begin construction on a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit within its Bentonville hospital campus as part of a $3 million investment in local hospital updates, according to a release by the healthcare provider on Wednesday (March 18).
The new 2,000-square-foot NICU center in the Northwest Medical Center-Bentonville will help to serve the needs of babies who are not able to thrive without specialized interim care. The NICU will include space for six licensed specialty beds as well as additional cosmetic upgrades. It will be staffed by registered nurses and respiratory therapists as well as neonatal nurse practitioners and neonatologists.
“The new unit will be located on the second floor of the hospital and include the equipment and technology necessary to care for the more acute newborn,” said Northwest Health System CEO Sharif Omar. “We are not stopping there."
Northwest Health also announced a makeover of its Willow Creek Women’s Hospital in Johnson that will be done concurrently with the expansion into Bentonville.
“In the next few weeks, we will begin a complete facility makeover that will change the look and feel of Willow Creek Women’s Hospital to a serene and relaxing spa-like environment for the comfort of our patients and guests,” Omar said.
The new NICU center in Bentonville is slated to open this fall. This NICU expansion into the Benton County market will allow newborns that require additional care after delivery to remain in the local area closer to their family during the hospitalization and recovery process.
Omar said patient care in both facilities will not be interrupted by the construction and remodeling this summer.