Arkansas Children's Hospital is proposing a new pediatric clinic to serve the southwest Little Rock community and Spanish speakers, but the plan first must get rezoning approval from the city Board of Directors.
The board will vote next Tuesday on rezoning a site on Dailey Drive off Baseline Road for a one-story, 11,555-square-foot pediatric office.
The Arkansas Children's Hospital clinic would have a bilingual staff to meet the needs of the large population of Spanish-speaking residents in southwest Little Rock.
"We noticed that we had developed a pretty substantial population of Spanish-speaking families coming to the west Little Rock clinic, and that's not where the families lived," said Rob Steele, senior vice president and chief strategy officer of the hospital.
"As part of our statewide network of care, which is part of our strategic plan, is to bring care closer to home," he said.
The proposed site is city-owned and is south of the Pulaski County Southwest Health Unit.
Children's Hospital and the city would have the same kind of agreement the city made with the Health Unit in 2012 when the city board allowed 3 acres of city property to be rezoned for construction of the county clinic. Little Rock retained ownership of the property and entered into a 99-year lease with the county to allow for operation of the clinic.
The pediatric clinic is proposed to be open Mondays through Fridays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. to offer primary care. It is planned to have 15 rooms, a lab and an X-ray unit. The goal is to open next spring.
The proposed site now is woods. To the east is the city's Southwest Community Center and police substation. To the north is the county's Southwest Health Unit, and farther north on Baseline Road is a post office. A vacant area that was previously a mobile home park sits to the west and a vacant warehouse building is to the south.
"You couldn't ask for better neighbors. Some things kind of came together. This is an optimal site for this type of clinic," Steele said, also noting the residential neighborhoods that are nearby.
The Little Rock Planning Commission recommended approval of the rezoning request in a 10-0 vote in July, with one member absent. The site is now zoned residential, and must be zoned "planned office development" to allow the clinic.
City staff members also are recommending the Board of Directors approve the request.
Board members met Tuesday evening to discuss the agenda for next week's meeting, which includes the rezoning request, but there was no discussion on the item.
The board will meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall to vote.
Metro on 08/10/2016