Mercy Northwest Arkansas is making a meaningful advance forward with its mission to increase access to health care thanks to a $5 million gift from the Walmart Foundation to Mercy Health Foundation Northwest Arkansas. With the donation, Mercy intends to expand upon its growth plans, improving the reach of quality health care within the region.

The Walmart Foundation’s gift enables Mercy NWA to purchase the latest medical technology, attract top-tier physicians and offer new services for those in the region. 

One immediate impact of the gift is the construction of a new interventional radiology suite, which will feature the most up-to-date medical equipment, including a robot-controlled system that uses imaging techniques to show blood flow and guide minimally invasive treatments for various conditions. This new interventional radiology suite allows Mercy NWA to provide advanced treatments for which patients were previously forced to travel outside the region. According to the Northwest Arkansas Council’s 2019 Health Care Report, our community loses approximately $950 million annually when patients leave for medical services and specialty care. This investment by the Walmart Foundation advances Mercy’s effort to reversing this trend, while meeting the needs of patients.

The rest of the Walmart Foundation’s gift will go to other Mercy NWA expansion plan projects, to be announced in the near future, all of which will help meet the growing health care needs of the booming population in Northwest Arkansas.