Rising demand for primary care services and the need to expand a medical residency program in collaboration with the Arkansas Colleges of Health Education (ACHE) were the primary reasons for an almost $4.2 million expansion of Mercy Clinic Primary Care at Chaffee Crossing.
Officials with Mercy Fort Smith and ACHE gathered Wednesday (March 11) for a ceremonial opening of the expanded space. Work began in March 2025 on the 19,548-square-foot expansion that includes 13 new patient care rooms. The expanded clinic is home to seven full-time physicians and 38 resident physicians through ACHE. The residency number will increase by two family medicine residents per year for the next three years, according to Mercy.
Since it began in 2021, Mercy’s family medicine residency program has grown from eight physicians to 30 and is expected to grow each year, according to Mercy. Mercy said the construction, completed by Fort Smith-based Beshears Construction, cost about $3.7 million, with other costs totaling $497,000.
