CARTI, the independent, not-for-profit that provides cancer treatment services, has been serving patients in El Dorado for more than 20 years. Based on that relationship, it makes sense for the organization, as it expands, to build a new location to serve all of South Arkansas, CEO Adam Head said.
“We have patients going to Crossett regularly, and now we formed a relationship with Magnolia as well,” he said. “We know there is a real need for what we define as world-class cancer services in South Arkansas. It only makes sense because of the fact that we’ve been in El Dorado for over 20 years. We need a hub, a nice cancer center where we can bring those services in an even greater way to patients’ doorsteps.”
While no location or timeframe has been announced, Head said the organization’s foundation arm is fundraising to pay for the center. CARTI envisions a 17,000-to-18,000 square foot facility in the area.
“The state has more than 3 million people, and a lot don’t live in the Little Rock area,” Head said. “We can take care of more patients by being there. A lot of patients don’t want to drive all the way to Little Rock. If we can get closer to patient’s homes and treat them if they do have a cancer diagnosis, we could even treat them earlier in their cancer journey.”
CARTI has built cancer centers across the state — El Dorado would be the company’s fifth after Little Rock, North Little Rock, Conway and Russellville. CARTI leadership met with healthcare providers in El Dorado earlier this year, and received consistent feedback that there’s a need to extend services into South Arkansas.
“We heard a physician stand up and say that, from a healthcare standpoint, there’s a perception that the southern border is Little Rock,” Head said. “We really took that to heart. South Arkansas is really a primary objective. We’re missing it if we’re not much more aggressive in going to more locations and providing more services on site.”
The center would allow CARTI to create a one-stop shop for cancer treatment, from oncology services to lab work.
“We’re just thankful for the opportunity to treat patients in Union County and really all of South Arkansas over the past 20 years; we’ve really felt embraced in doing that,” Head said. “I hopeful we can raise the money really quickly to get this going. I think there’s an opportunity to do that and really change the game in the cancer diagnosis rate we see in South Arkansas. To give everybody the best opportunity to get the kind of care we want to deliver.”