As a nonprofit, community-owned and locally governed health care system in Northwest Arkansas, our team members are steadfast in their commitment to our mission of improving the health of people in the communities we serve. I’m thankful to all our team members who live out that mission each day, and their dedication has not gone unnoticed. U.S. News & World Report named Washington Regional Medical Center the #1 hospital in Arkansas for a second consecutive year and rated the hospital as high performing in nine areas of care – more than any other hospital in the state.

With our commitment to high quality care, Washington Regional continues to find new ways to serve our rapidly growing community and in April 2022 announced plans to form a partnership with the Alice L. Walton Foundation in collaboration with the Cleveland Clinic to create a transformative health care system in Northwest Arkansas. This new health care system will focus on infusing whole health principles into clinical, educational and operational practices with the goal of improving health outcomes in the region and enhancing value-based care. As part of the partnership, Washington Regional will also provide clinical opportunities for students of the Alice L. Walton School of Medicine, which will help grow the number of physicians in our area and expand access to specialty care.

We also continue to invest in new technology to serve our patients. In the past year, we’ve added new tools to improve outcomes for joint replacement patients and improve the ways we deliver men’s health services. Recently, we also became the first health system in Northwest Arkansas to offer a minimally invasive procedure to help lower the risk of stroke for high-risk patients and introduced a new clinic to serve women experiencing high risk pregnancies.

I believe that health care is a calling to serve the greater good. Washington Regional’s team members have all answered that call and we stand united in purpose, committed to our mission and each other as we look forward to what the future holds.

 

Sincerely,

Larry Shackelford
President & CEO