New Milestone Reached for AWSOM Whole Health Campus

Today marks an exciting step forward in advancing whole-person health in the Heartland.

The Alice L. Walton Foundation and Mercy have broken ground on AWSOM Whole Health Campus, a transformative destination in Bentonville that will bring together world-class specialty care, whole-person health, nature, art, and community in one integrated environment.

The vision for the campus grew from efforts to address longstanding gaps in access to specialty care across the region. Construction has now begun on the campus's first building, the Center for Advanced Specialty Care, which will focus on cardiac care services in affiliation with Cleveland Clinic.

Planned to open in 2029, the 709,000-square-foot facility will significantly expand access to specialty and virtual care for patients across Northwest Arkansas and the broader Heartland region. Initial specialties provided by Mercy will include orthopedics, gastroenterology, and neurology, helping connect more people to advanced care closer to home and addressing rural health care needs.

In addition, a world-class cancer care destination is being developed, with over 1.1 million square feet dedicated to cancer care, as well as a hospital containing over 250 beds, 40 operating rooms in an additional 1 million square feet, creating nearly 3 million square feet dedicated to specialty care.

“We are not building a specialty care campus solely for Northwest Arkansas; we are building a hub and spoke model that can strengthen access to specialty care across the region,” said Dr. Claude Pirtle, President of Heartland Whole Health Institute. “By combining world-class clinical expertise with virtual care and partnerships, we can create a model that brings high-quality specialty care closer to home."

To read the full news release, and to learn more about AWSOM Whole Health Campus, visit www.awsomwholehealth.org.