As Chaffee Crossing’s population and workforce continue to grow, the importance of community access to quality healthcare grows as well. Recently, the region’s leading healthcare organization, Mercy Fort Smith, and its Chaffee Crossing Clinic have partnered with Arkansas Colleges of Health Education (ACHE) in Chaffee Crossing to significantly expand healthcare services.
The Mercy Clinic Primary Care at Chaffee Crossing has opened expanded space, adding more than 19,000 square feet and 13 new patient rooms. The expansion, completed by Beshears Construction, also supports Mercy's family medicine residency program and medical students from the Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine by providing more training space. Leaders like Dr. Paul Bean and Dr. Chris Fortson emphasized its role in enhancing patient care, teamwork, and future physician development, with features like larger rooms for families and disability access.
The clinic, located at 7003 Chad Colley Blvd. in Barling, offers appointments, walk-ins, wellness visits, vaccinations, screenings, and Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment. This $4.2 million project is home to seven full-time physicians and 38 resident physicians through the Arkansas Colleges of Health Education (ACHE).
As commercial, industrial, residential and multifamily developers across the country continue to invest and grow in Chaffee Crossing, the expansion of healthcare offerings in the community are an important aspect of advancing the quality of life for residents and employers.
Mercy Hospital Fort Smith and the Arkansas Colleges of Health Education play a significant role in advancing medical care and healthcare education in western Arkansas. Mercy Hospital Fort Smith is a leading regional medical center and part of the Mercy health system, one of the nation’s 15 largest health systems. The hospital provides comprehensive services including emergency care, cardiology, oncology, women’s health, and orthopedics.
The Arkansas Colleges of Health Education is a private, nonprofit institution that broke ground in Chaffee Crossing in 2015 and welcomed its inaugural class in 2017. ACHE is dedicated to educating healthcare professionals through programs in osteopathic medicine, occupational therapy, physical therapy, public health, and other advanced healthcare disciplines. Together, Mercy Hospital Fort Smith and ACHE have formed important partnerships, like the one at Mercy’s Chaffee Crossing Clinic to expand residency training programs and improve healthcare access in the Arkansas River Valley region.
