Hope-based Southwest Arkansas Regional Medical Center is planning to request $3 million from the state to help provide financial support, stabilize operations and keep its doors open, Shelby Brown, chief administrative officer for the hospital, confirmed with Becker’s.
“As we have stressed to our Governor [Sarah Huckabee Sanders] and her staff along with our elected officials, rural healthcare in Arkansas is in a crisis,” Ms. Brown said in a statement shared with Becker’s. “We are not alone in this intense struggle to keep our doors open in order to take care of the residents who depend on us.”
Ms. Brown said the hospital also received approval from CMS on Sept. 19 to transition to a critical access hospital. The hospital applied for the designation in February.
Hope-based Pafford Health Systems purchased the 48-bed acute care hospital from Dallas-based Steward Health Care for $200,000 in early September 2024. It comprises both inpatient and outpatient diagnostic services, a 24-hour emergency department, a 12-bed inpatient geriatric behavioral health unit, a rural health clinic, physical therapy and inpatient pharmacy services, according to its website.
Ms. Brown said Southwest Arkansas Regional did not receive American Rescue Plan Act funds like many other state hospitals because its former owner, Steward, which sought Chapter 11 protection in May 2024, did not request them.
“We feel strongly that the people in Southwest Arkansas deserve to have access to lifesaving emergency care,” she said. “We are requesting funds to help stabilize our operations as we continue numerous initiatives to make us a sustainable organization.”
Hospital leaders will meet with state leaders Sept. 24 to discuss the funding, Ms. Brown said.
