DE QUEEN, Ark. -- The Sevier County Medical Center remains on track for opening in May or June.
"We are still on track ... barring any supply chain issues, which are happening to a lot of construction projects these days," said Dr. Steve Cole, chair of the Sevier County Medical Board.
The new hospital is more than 70% complete with work being done on the the interior walls, Cole said.
A local businessman recently took aerial photos of the hospital construction and they show how far its come in recent months.
"It is hard to believe that less than two years ago the voters of Sevier County overwhelmingly passed a sales tax to support our new hospital and here we are, almost complete," Cole said.
The CEO of SCMC, Lori House, was hired in June and will be responsible for the day-to-day administrative duties as construction proceeds on the new hospital and once it opens next spring.
SCMC staff are also working on it's very first Community Health Needs Assessment, which will help direct the hospital in offering the correct balance of services to match the needs of the community and provide stability for the success of the hospital.
The hospital, whose funding was approved by Sevier County voters through a 1% sales tax passed in October 2019, will be located on the east side of U.S. Highway 71, a few miles north of De Queen.
The county's former hospital, which was owned by an out of state company, closed in 2019 after a series of financial setbacks.
The hospital groundbreaking was in November 2020, just a year after the special election.
"We lost our hospital and we went through that together," Cole said at the groundbreaking ceremony. "Then just a year ago, 84% of our residents voted yes to a new hospital. Now we are at this point: The groundbreaking of a 14-bed medical facility for residents of Sevier County and the surrounding area," he said.
The site is about 18 acres, and is being landscaped to create a visually appealing campus for the hospital.
The hospital will be about 42,000 square feet and includes an outpatient rehab facility. It should employ about 105 people.
