According to Arkansas Business, a $10 million emergency hospital is in the works for the corner of Chenal Parkway and Kirk Road in west Little Rock, bringing a second freestanding emergency facility to the busy corridor within just a couple of months. The proposed project at 16800 Chenal Parkway would be a 12,190-square-foot freestanding emergency department and urgent care medical clinic.
According to Arkansas Business, a building permit application for the project was filed with the City of Little Rock last month and remains under city review. The application was submitted by Florent Ilazi, whose email address is associated with The Boldt Co., a construction company based in Appleton, Wisconsin.
The 2.07-acre property is owned by WMJ Properties LLC, which is led by Kari Whisenhunt, per the same report. No developer, hospital operator, financing source, construction timeline or expected opening date has been verified for the project.
A Second ER Arrives on the Same Stretch of Road
The new proposal sits just down the road from another emergency hospital that opened in September, the report notes. That facility, West Little Rock Emergency Hospital, opened at 17810 Chenal Parkway, about a mile from the newly proposed site.
Nutex Health Inc. has opened West Little Rock Emergency Hospital at 17810 Chenal Parkway, according to Arkansas Money & Politics. The outlet reports the location marks the company's 28th hospital nationwide and its third facility in Arkansas.
What the Nearby Facility Offers
The 18,966-square-foot facility features eight emergency room beds, five inpatient suites and two triage rooms, Arkansas Money & Politics reports. It also includes a full-service laboratory and advanced imaging services, including MRI, CT, X-ray and ultrasound, the outlet notes.
The hospital is designed to provide 24/7 emergency care, along with diagnostic services and inpatient care, according to the same report. Whether the newly proposed Chenal Parkway and Kirk Road project will offer comparable services, staffing or equipment has not been disclosed, and no medical provider or hospital operator has been identified for the project.
For now, the proposal remains a line item in the city's permitting process, with the application identifying the project address as 16800 Chenal Parkway and flagged as under review by the City of Little Rock. Whether it clears that review, and who ultimately runs the facility, remains to be seen as west Little Rock's emergency care footprint continues to expand along the Chenal corridor.
