Voters in Arkansas are backing a tax that will go toward building a new hospital in Sevier County, according to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
De Queen (Ark.) Medical Center, owned by a subsidiary of Kansas City, Mo.-based EmpowerHMS, filed for bankruptcy in April and closed in May.
Now, Sevier County voters have approved a 1 percent sales tax and a $24.25 million bond issue to help build a hospital outside De Queen, near the old hospital, the Democrat-Gazette reported.
Jason Lofton, MD, a De Queen physician who has been involved in efforts to build the hospital, told the newspaper the new facility is expected to have an emergency department and 12 beds. The emergency department is projected to open in summer 2021.
Read the full report here.
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