FORT SMITH, ARK. — McCarthy Building Cos. Inc. has delivered the new addition for Mercy Hospital Fort Smith, a hospital situated off Rogers Avenue in Fort Smith. The five-story addition spans 162,000 square feet and represents a $185 million expansion for the hospital, which opened in 1975. The expansion allows Mercy to accommodate approximately 25,000 more patients annually.
Construction began in 2022 and increased the number of emergency rooms from 29 to 50, added six new trauma rooms and expanded the number of ICU beds from 36 to 64. Infrastructural upgrades include enhancements to the hospital’s mechanical penthouse, helipad and parking decks, along with an expanded central utility plant and the addition of a 22-bed observation unit in the former ICU space.
The design-build team for the expansion project included ENFRA (mechanical engineer), HKS Architects, Olsson Associates (civil engineer) and Northstar Management (program manager). Mercy is one of the 15 largest health systems in the United States and serves patients in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma.