Best known as the hometown of retail and food conglomerates Wal-Mart and Tyson Foods, Bentonville , Ark. , put itself on the map again in 2003, this time in the medical industry.

Opening in May of 2003, the Northwest Medical Center not only provides the state-of-the-art facility needed for northwest Arkansas ' rapidly growing population, but holds the title as one of the top three percent of technically advanced hospitals in the United States .

Members of the Bentonville and surrounding communities, who at one time had to travel as far as Kansas City to receive more advanced testing and medical care, are now able to receive advanced care in a faster and more accurate manor, all in the comforts of their hometown. The 4-story, $65 million hospital, built by The Robins & Morton Group, is approximately 220,000 sq.ft., making it three times larger than the hospital it replaced. Amenities include surgical suites and labor and delivery rooms, digital radiography rooms, visual mammography facilities and an emergency room featuring advanced CT scanners and air tube systems.

The hospital is owned by Triad Hospitals, Inc. and was constructed in 14 months, ahead of its original schedule, through the efforts of a well-experienced project team. Draper & Associates worked collaboratively with Robins & Morton and their sub-contractors early in the process to incorporate resource management alternatives for time and materials. Ultimately this was the catalyst for Draper & Associates to prepare a schedule that tracked and expedited the construction process.

As a result of the performance by The Robins & Morton Group on this project, they were awarded contracts for two additional facilities on campus, a three-story medical office building / Ambulatory Surgery Center and a privately owned Medical / Therapy Center . Draper & Associates also completed the scheduling of these facilities. Construction on these facilities was completed by December 2003.