The nation’s first campus specifically built to bring inpatient rehabilitation and behavioral health services together opened its doors for public tours Thursday.
Officials showcased the new Jefferson Regional Specialty Hospital on West Holland Avenue, just behind the Jefferson Regional Wellness Center and just west of White Hall High School. The 87,000-square-foot facility includes a 40-bed inpatient rehab center with all private rooms, a brain injury unit with private dining and therapy gym, large interdisciplinary gyms and a transitional living apartment, among other amenities. The 36-bed behavioral health unit, also with all private rooms, provides inpatient and outpatient services for adults and seniors, crisis stabilization, and alcohol and drug detoxification programs.
The hospital is expected to staff between 150 and 200 people.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
“It’s more than we would have ever believed it would turn out to be,” Jefferson Regional President and CEO Brian Thomas said. “To go from seeing an idea to walking through the halls of reality, it’s incredible.”
The idea started to take shape two years ago, when the Jefferson County Quorum Court narrowly granted the Jefferson Hospital Association, the board behind Jefferson Regional Medical Center, a lease through 2099 for Anchor Health Properties to develop the Specialty Hospital.
The price tag for the Specialty Hospital at the time was $55 million. Earl Swensson Architects of Nashville, Tenn., and Brasfield and Gorrie Contractors of Birmingham, Ala., designed the campus.
During a ribbon-cutting event Thursday, Thomas explained space at Jefferson Regional’s Pine Bluff campus is aging and in need of attention, necessitating more land to extend its services. Thomas added the Specialty Hospital is the second in the nation to have behavioral health and inpatient rehab coexist under one roof.
“Certainly would like to give accolades to our hospital board for their support,” Thomas said. “They’ve been steadfast between what we’ve got going in our own operation and what we’ve got going in this building. They’re truly dedicated to continuing the care of southeast Arkansas.”
One of the new advantages of the Specialty Hospital is expanding the number of beds, campus CEO Mary Daggett explained. The previous count, as of 2022, was 27 beds for rehab and 18 for behavioral health at the Pine Bluff hospital. The first patient for the inpatient rehab wing will be admitted either Tuesday or Wednesday, and the first patient for behavioral health will be accepted in the following week.
“Right now, it’s pretty limited, and of course these are two different product lines,” Daggett said of the existing space. The inpatient rehab facility, she explained, is more for patients who have experienced trauma and injury.
“It offers the community so much more for people to have some place to go, versus having to go all the way to Little Rock for some of these services,” she said.
By having the Specialty Hospital in Jefferson County, those who are in the healing phase can have family close by to help in the recovery, Daggett added. The Specialty Hospital also attracted new officials like Marcus Elliott, a former University of Arkansas football offensive lineman who is now the facility’s director of business development.
“This facility is so modern and state-of-the-art,” Elliott said. “Currently, quite often for patients and families that have diseases such as the ones that we care for, they have to go to a metropolitan area like Little Rock to find this quality. This is a game-changer regarding that for southeast Arkansas, southern Arkansas. This will be a state-of-the-art facility that will provide the best of care for patients and their families that normally would have to go to Little Rock.
“We encourage families to be present and take part in the care onsite.”
Lifepoint Health, which has partnered with Jefferson Regional for such services since 1992, has a 40% stake in ownership of the Specialty Hospital and will operate both the rehab and behavioral health units. Lifepoint President Russ Bailey the Specialty Hospital is based on the pillars of greater access, passionately advocating for employees and growth, and providing excellent outcomes.
“This is not a one-pill or one-treatment fix. It’s a journey,” Bailey said.
The hospital overcame two fires to make it to ribbon cutting. The first occurred in what would become the rehab area last May. Thomas estimated the fire could have set back the construction timeline about 2½ months.
“Luckily we had a construction crew on the ground who knew what to do,” he said. “They quickly reversed their course and really made up a lot of that ground. Otherwise that could have been a really big setback.”
Another fire occurred late last week when strong winds in the area took down a piece of equipment and knocked over a propane line with a pilot light, according to Thomas. Security was at the site and called the local fire department to quickly extinguish the fire, he said.
“I think from an adversity standpoint, they came back and did a great job to get us where we are today,” Thomas commented.
From left in foreground, Jefferson Regional Medical Center President Brian Thomas, White Hall Mayor Noel Foster, Jefferson Regional Specialty Hospital CEO Mary Daggett, behavioral health unit medical director Dr. Abeer Washington and inpatient rehab unit director Dr. Nauman Yunus cut the ribbon on the Specialty Hospital in White Hall on Thursday, May 30, 2024. (Pine Bluff Commercial/I.C. Murrell)
The Jefferson Regional Specialty Hospital behavioral health unit is pictured. (Pine Bluff Commercial/I.C. Murrell)
Guests of the Jefferson Regional Specialty Hospital grand opening are seated outside the inpatient rehabilitation unit. (Pine Bluff Commercial/I.C. Murrell)