You can choose a career in a growing field while helping people live healthier lives.
Mercy Northwest Arkansas is growing, with plans to expand its hospital in Rogers and add clinics in several cities, including Springdale.
Mercy Northwest Arkansas is a faithbased, nonprofit operated by Mercy Health System, a ministry providing health care in four states.
Eric Pianalto, President of Mercy Hospital Northwest Arkansas, grew up in Tontitown and graduated from Springdale High School. He earned a bachelor’ s degree from the University of Arkansas and an MBA from Webster University. He has worked for Mercy since 1994.
“ It’ s a great place to work,” Pianalto said.
Mercy will be a great place to work formany more people soon.
The expansion will add 100 beds to thehospital, Pianalto said, increasing the number to more than 300. In addition, Mercy will build seven new primary and specialty care clinics.
The hospital and clinic expansions will create the need for 1,000 new health care workers, increasing Mercy’ s employees in Northwest Arkansas from 2,000 to about 3,000 in the next fiveyears, Pianalto said. The expansion is critically needed.
“ Our hospital and clinics have been serving the community at a very
24 high capacity,” Pianalto said.“ To ensure we carry out our mission and continue to meet the needs of Northwest Arkansas, we developed a plan to provide additional access to quality care.”
New employees will work at the expanded hospital and new clinics, which will be added to the 35 existing ones in the area, said John Roller, Human Resources Recruitment Manager.
“ It takes an army to take care of a patient,” he said.
Nursing positions are challenging to fill, Roller said.
“ There is a shortage of nurses in Northwest Arkansas and across the country,” he added.
Registered nurses and licensed practical nurses, referred to as RNs and LPNs, must pass a licensure exam. The education path is longer for RNs, but they earn more money and have more choices about where to work.
Nurses’ time in school can range from 18 months for an associate degree to four years for a bachelor’ s degree. Northwest Arkansas Community College in Bentonville, Northwest Technical Institute in Springdale and the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville offer different