UAMS Holds Topping Out Ceremony for Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine Hospital in Springdale
| FAYETTEVILLE — The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) hosted a topping out ceremony today for the UAMS Health Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine Hospital, which will be the new home of world-class orthopaedic and sports medicine care providers serving Northwest Arkansas.
Attendees were invited to sign a beam, which was then hoisted by crane onto the building and set in place by Nabholz Construction Company.
Speakers included C. Lowry Barnes, M.D., UAMS chancellor; Ryan Cork, MHSA, vice chancellor of the UAMS Northwest Region; Wes Cox, M.D., section chief of UAMS Health’s orthopaedics and sports medicine team in Northwest Arkansas; Randy Lawson, chairman of the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees; and Doug Sprouse, mayor of the City of Springdale.
The 85,000-square-foot center will be located on about 30 acres in the four-mile stretch of I-49 on the city’s west side, commonly known as the Springdale Care Corridor.
The new facility will be the home in Northwest Arkansas for UAMS Health orthopaedic surgical care and will include exam rooms, operating rooms, and inpatient beds. The facility will also provide sports medicine care, sports performance training, physical therapy, and MRI, supplementing UAMS’ existing orthopaedic and sports performance clinics in the area.
Completion of the building is expected in spring 2027. The world-renowned Marlon Blackwell Architects designed the two-story building with input from Davis Stokes Collaborative Architects, P.C., who guided the design process from a health care perspective to ensure that all regulatory requirements and industry standards were met.
From the winding drive to plant-filled atriums and rooms imbued with natural light, the atmosphere will be open and inviting.
“This facility will represent a whole new patient experience,” Cox said. “We worked closely with the architects to create a health care space that is both welcoming and health-inducing. Our mission is to serve the community in Northwest Arkansas with a world-class, iconic destination for sports medicine and orthopaedics.”
What makes this project special, Barnes said, is its potential impact as a resource for the community.
“This facility will be an invaluable addition to Northwest Arkansas,” Barnes said. “This innovative surgical facility will accommodate patients’ needs for advanced orthopaedic surgical technology, as well as physical medicine and rehabilitation. The facility will enable us to offer a wide range of orthopaedic procedures, allowing for more personalized, efficient and effective care from Arkansas’ largest fellowship-trained orthopaedic team.”
According to Cork, the center’s goal is to serve patients in Northwest Arkansas and beyond.
“Northwest Arkansas is becoming a destination for patients across the country, and this hospital is the next step in that journey,” Cork said. “Our orthopaedic and sports medicine specialists have earned national and international recognition, and now they will have a home to match that reputation.”
And for Cox, this facility represents a vision brought to life.
“From concept to construction, we’ve always been focused first and foremost on what’s best for our patients,” Cox said. “The project’s vision is rooted in a simple, yet profound idea: medical facilities should heal not just the body but the mind and spirit as well. Ultimately, this is more than a building. It’s a model for human-centered health care design. It’s a space that recognizes healing as a holistic process.”
UAMS is the state’s only health sciences university, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; a hospital; a main campus in Little Rock; a Northwest Arkansas regional campus in Fayetteville; a statewide network of regional campuses; and eight institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, Psychiatric Research Institute, Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging, Translational Research Institute, Institute for Digital Health & Innovation and the Institute for Community Health Innovation. UAMS includes UAMS Health, a statewide health system that encompasses all of UAMS’ clinical enterprise. UAMS is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has 3,553 students and 1,015 medical residents and fellows. It is the state’s largest public employer with about 12,000 employees, including 1,200 physicians who provide care to patients at UAMS, its regional campuses, Arkansas Children’s, the VA Medical Center and Baptist Health. Visit www.uams.edu or uamshealth.com. Find us on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube or Instagram.###