ROGERS - For most of Sunday, there was more chaos at Chuck E Cheese's than at Mercy Medical Center, even as ambulances moved more than 80 patients from St. Mary's Hospital to the new 350, 000-square-foot building along Interstate 540.
Twenty-two minutes after opening for business at 6 a. m., the first person walked into the new emergency room seeking treatment.
Another first happened at exactly 2: 13 p.m. - Madison Knight was born in room 532 to Brandy and Joshua Knight, both 27, of Pea Ridge. She entered the world weighing in at a healthy 8 pounds 6 ounces, with a full head of black hair.
Brandy said she went into labor at 2 a.m. Sunday. She was among the first patients transported to the new medical center. The Knights said they took the move in stride and, despite the fact they knew their baby girl was on the way, never panicked between facilities.
"It really wasn't an overwhelming situation," Brandy said. "We were just going to take it as it comes. Josh's mom is a nurse here, so we knew what was going on."
And before and after all of that, the effort to pull off a successful transition and opening of the long-awaited Mercy Medical Center continued. Nearly 50 registered nurses, 108 professionals coordinating and monitoring the facilities new one-record electronic system, 45 paramedic and fire personnel, 12 police officers, eight emergency management personnel and others were involved Sunday.
Over the course of the patient transfer, two surgeries were performed at the old St. Mary's Hospital, one emergency patient was accepted at St. Mary's, and 125 command center calls were taken.
"We'd been planning this move for about a year," said Jennifer LaPerre, who is vice president of business development. "We're very excited to tell you it's been a success."
While Michelle Stewart's alarm clock went off plenty early Sunday morning, she'd spent her sleeping hours dreaming of scenarios of the move.
Stewart, the chief nursing officer, was among the most instrumental team members overseeing the major undertaking of moving every patient from St. Mary's Hospital on Walnut Street to Mercy Medical Center along Interstate 540.
The 6 a.m. emergency room opening signaled the official opening of the new medical center. Transport of patients began about an hour later.
Stewart had been involved in a similar move when the St. Joseph's Hospital in Hot Springs - also in the Mercy group - opened a few years ago, but she'd be the first to tell you it's virtually impossible to prepare for the unknown. Still, she and the Mercy staff coordinating the move in Rogers went into the morning confident.
Ambulances started lining up at St. Mary's at 7 a.m. Sunday and continued to transport patients from one facility to the other until 12: 05 p.m. There were four pregnant women in labor, six maternity patients that had just recently delivered, six newborns, five newborns from the neonatal Intensive Care Unit, and several pediatric, intensive care, surgery, telemetry and other patients. Ambulances from Bella Vista, Bentonville, Rogers, St. John's Hospital in Springfield, Mo., and Arkansas Patient Transfer were involved.
Plenty of decisions had to be made at the spur of the moment.
An emergency coordination center full of staff from Benton County Central Communications Center and the Rogers Police Department were relaying instructions, keeping tabs on where ambulances were and whatever else found its way into the mix during the most critical points of the move.
When the bulk of the move was completed Sunday afternoon, Mercy staff were all wearing smiles on their faces.
"We did it ! "were the first words out of LaPerre's mouth during an update to the media on Sunday afternoon.
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