Northwest Medical Center - Springdale
From open-heart surgery and neurosurgery to a Chest Pain Center and behavioral health services, Northwest Medical Center - Springdale provides a range of services. Additionally, after an accident or critical illness, some patients need intensive therapy before they can leave the hospital. That's why we provide an acute-care inpatient rehabilitation unit.
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In 2021, the Arkansas Institute for Performance Excellence awarded Northwest Health the highest-level, Governor’s Award for Performance Excellence. An award focused on continuous quality improvement and not presented every year, only 27 Arkansas organizations have received the highest-level award.
A Rich History of Heart Care
More than 20 years ago, Northwest Health took a giant step in revolutionizing cardiac care in Northwest Arkansas when the first-ever open-heart surgery was performed at Northwest Medical Center – Springdale. In 2011, the hospital raised the bar once more for cardiac care in our community as the first hospital in Northwest Arkansas to achieve accreditation as a Chest Pain Center with PCI. That same year, the first procedure in NWA was performed to implant the world’s smallest heart pump (the Impella) pump.
World-class diagnostic technology arrived again when the Springdale hospital purchased the state’s first flat panel catheterization lab used for cardiovascular imaging. This new technology provided instant patient benefits in the form of sharper X-ray images for physician evaluation, including internal 3-D images in seconds instead of limited 2-D images that could take more than half an hour. Patient comfort was improved due to reduced radiation exposure and greatly reduced test times.
In 2016, the interventional cardiology team at Northwest Medical Center - Springdale became the first in the state of Arkansas to offer patients with coronary artery disease a new treatment option when a patient received the first FDA-approved dissolving heart stent. While stents are traditionally made of metal, the absorbable stent is made of a naturally dissolving material, similar to dissolving sutures. The stent disappears completely in about 3 years, after it has done its job of keeping a clogged artery open and promoting healing of the treated artery segment. By contrast, metal stents are permanent implants.
And, most recently, the Springdale hospital became one of fewer than 50 hospitals that is part of the National Cardiogenic Shock Initiative (CSI), working with other major health systems to increase survival in patients with acute myocardial infarction complicated by cardiogenic shock (AMICS). The National CSI is a single-arm, multicenter study designed to assess the feasibility of whether outcomes in cardiogenic shock can be improved by using standardized best practices including inserting a special heart pump to protect the patient during a percutaneous coronary intervention.
History
The hospital opened in 1952 as Springdale Memorial Hospital. Harvey Jones, who was instrumental in the development of the city's first hospital, served as the first board chairman and continued serving on the board for 47 years. He and his wife, Bernice, nurtured and provided financial support through the hospital expansion's into Northwest Medical Center.
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