New primary care clinic opens in Pea Ridge

Special to The TIMES

Mercy plans a blessing and ribbon cutting Wednesday for its new 7,400-square-foot primary care clinic in Pea Ridge. The clinic begins taking patients Thursday.

Mercy Primary Care

Pea Ridge blessing and ribbon cutting

10 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2017

200 Carr St., Pea Ridge, Ark.

The clinic is part of a $247 million expansion plan that will add seven clinics in the region and a new tower to the Rogers hospital.

Mercy Clinic Primary Care, Pea Ridge, will house two providers, a physician and nurse practitioner, and feature 14 examination rooms at 200 Carr St.

Dr. Matthew Jennings brings more than two decades of experience to the clinic, including multiple years in family practice, emergency medicine and urgent care, and he has also served in numerous medical supervisory roles. A graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Dr. Jennings earned his M.D. from Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences in Bethesda, Md. He served as both a combat surgeon and family practice physician during his time on active duty.

Dr. Jennings said Pea Ridge is an ideal place for him to establish a new practice in family medicine.

"Most of my practice has been in small, rural communities. I like to feel that I'm a part of the community as opposed to someone who just works in the community," he said. "The goal of family medicine is to create long lasting relationships with an entire family over years of care. I think Pea Ridge is a great place to do that."

Crossland Construction Co. completed the Pea Ridge clinic building earlier this month. Mercy's investment in the site and building is expected to total $4.1 million.

The clinic opening represents Mercy's return to Pea Ridge. A former clinic building Mercy donated to the city of Pea Ridge has served as a library and community center for a decade.

Mercy includes 43 acute care and specialty (heart, children's, orthopedic and rehab) hospitals, more than 700 physician practices and outpatient facilities, 40,000 co-workers and more than 2,000 Mercy Clinic physicians in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma.

General News on 09/13/2017