Fayetteville City Hospital is located at 221 S. School Avenue across from the Fayetteville Public Library.
Photo: Todd Gill, Flyer staff
Washington Regional Medical Center officials announced this week they will close Fayetteville City Hospital facility within 60 days.
The news came in a press release issued about a week after a 40/29 news report which stated that the Arkansas Department of Health and Human Services had found severe problems with the 100-year-old hospital-turned-nursing home.
Reported findings included roof leaks, stained floors and ceiling tiles, and disconnected toilet bowls filled with feces.
The facility, which was named the “Best Nursing Home in Northwest Arkansas” in a 2011 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette readers poll, is currently home to 72 residents.
Officials said residents will be moved to other long-term care facilities and nursing homes in the area, and that job placement assistance will be offered for the facility’s 99 employees, including “priority status” for transfers to other jobs within the system.
According to the release, the decision to close the facility was made by Washington Regional leadership based on “the timing of finalizing a long-term plan” for the building and “the age and accelerating deterioration” of it.
Bill Bradley, Washington Regional president and CEO, said the board is assessing the feasibility of building a replacement facility, but did not mention a possible location.
“As we begin to transition our residents and assist our staff, we are grateful that our region supports several new long-term and residential care facilities that we believe can help serve as a placement solution,” said Bradley.
So best nursing home in NWA last year; severe problems found by the health department and shut down this year. So what happened over the last year or what was not seen when it was picked best?
Readers of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette are not health inspectors; they presumably responded to the apparent level of care the residents received. It doesn’t matter how new and clean the facilities are if the care isn’t really caring. It takes great people to make a great nursing home.
Or it had the most recognizable name so people voted for it whether they knew anything about it or not.
That’s another possibility, though it never has been particularly well advertised, and I’d be surprised if people voted in a “best of” category about which they have no real interest.
Another possibility is that the vast resources of Washington Regional were directed to the achievement of this outcome.
Regardless, it is still the case that the readers of that paper are not health inspectors, and that it takes great people to make a great nursing home.
i’m crossing my fingers that this building will be converted to a ymca. i would love a downtown activity center.
Who owns this building? The location is great, and possibilities are many.
@glutenfree – The land was donated to the City by the Stone family in the first part of the 20th century. The deed stipulated it had to be used for hospital purposes or it would revert to the heirs of the family. Last year, the City traded it to Washington Regional in exchange for land for the North Hills roundabout.
Thank you for the information Petty.
It’s my understanding the city traded the hospital appraised at $2 mill. dollars for a piece appraised @ 150 thousand.
I still don’t understand why.
@Pati – I had the same question when the trade was first proposed. It didn’t seem like a good idea at all. I only chose to support it when we were told that the original deed required the property to always be used for a hospital or similar purpose.
When the land was donated, Fayetteville didn’t have a hospital and there were no plans for a regional hospital like Washington Regional. It made a lot of sense to put a hospital downtown on that land. Today, it doesn’t make as much sense to keep a hospital there, and I can think of a lot of other things that land would be good for. But the requirement of the deed was absolutely clear. We considered selling the land and putting the money towards a medical purpose, but we were advised even that would violate the deed.
In the end, everyone on the Council agreed to support the original intention of the donation by transferring the property to Washington Regional. We saved some money out of the deal, but I think the transfer probably would have made sense even without the trade. Washington Regional has the capacity to raise money to rehabilitate the facility (or replace it) and the capacity to operate it. If the City retained the property, we would have had to raise taxes to do anything with it in the future.
It’s sad to see the nursing home close, but I think Washington Regional is already planning what to do with the land.
so maybe a downtown clinic and wellness center could be put into the building? is that hospital-ish enough for the deed?
I believe it is, but it’s up to Washington Regional’s legal counsel to answer that question now.
man, the grove buildings are huuuuuuuge. they really change the landscape looking south from the library deck.
What will happen to The Attic, the secondhand store that raises money for the hospital?
Just called The Attic at 442-2523 and found out that they’re going to be transferred to a yet-to-be-determined location. In the meantime, they’re still open. Flyer staff, it’d be awesome if you kept up with their move; it’s a great store.
City Hospital served lower income people.
Where will those patients be able to go now?
Will anyone follow up to investigate conditions are in other nursing homes sited on property that isn’t being coveted for development/profit or considered an eyesore?
Would it not be a greater service to residents to rehab City Hosp and preserve it for people who aren’t so well situated financially?
Maybe we can get some more LEED EcoModern Student Housing on the City Hospital Property. There simply isn’t enough student housing planned, right? Maybe “The Grove II Downtown” .
City Council, the medical community, social services, news media ought to feel obligated to address zzyy’s 4 questions. No one should bother telling us he/she’s not responsible or has no authority. Now services related to City Hospital will migrate too, but people may not able to afford to move up to Crossover or wherever. By the way, what happened to city code? why is it that landlords (including WR) are allowed to let properties run down to the point where universal opinion is that it would cost too much to restore them? (think about Mnt. Inn for instance). See zzyy’s comments:
“City Hospital served lower income people.
Where will those patients be able to go now?
Will anyone follow up to investigate conditions are in other nursing homes sited on property that isn’t being coveted for development/profit or considered an eyesore?
Would it not be a greater service to residents to rehab City Hosp and preserve it for people who aren’t so well situated financially?”
WRMC had been lying to FCH administration and employees for years,Jack Morris had no intention of fixing fch or building a new building,is no secret FCH has been WRMC dirty little secret for a long time.Is such a shame for the residents to have lived in those conditions for years and now have to be uprooted,very sad