Alma River Valley Medical Supply Hub – I‑40/I‑49 Crossroads & Fort Smith Logistics
Crawford County’s “Spinach Capital” connects Mercy Fort Smith, Baptist Health–Fort Smith, Arkansas Children’s Northwest outreach, Veterans Health Care of the Ozarks clinics, ArcBest/ABF Freight HQ, Port of Van Buren, Tyson Foods, Mars Petcare, Matcor-Matsu, and the Arkansas River I‑40/I‑49 freight interchange. Our LAC Health counter inside Walmart #358 at 367 West Cherry Street keeps Mercy trauma suites, Baptist surgical centers, Arkansas Children’s transport, Alma/Van Buren Fire/EMS, ArcBest onsite clinics, and Arkansas River port tenants stocked without waiting on Little Rock or Tulsa depots.
Within 15 miles are Mercy and Baptist hospitals, Veterans Health clinics, Fort Chaffee Maneuver Training Center, Van Buren river terminals, Union Pacific and KCS/CPKC yards, I‑40/I‑49, US‑64, US‑71, and the Arkansas Oklahoma State Fairgrounds. Tornado outbreaks, river flood stages, poultry harvest surges, I‑40 hazmat incidents, and Fort Smith IMT activations require a “medical suppliers near me” counter tuned to River Valley ICS—this Cherry Street hub delivers.
Alma blends healthcare, logistics headquarters, manufacturing, agriculture, and river-port commerce. LAC Health supports that mix with generator-backed cold rooms, bilingual (English/Spanish/Marshallese) manifests, and MOUs with Crawford County OEM, ArcBest security, and Western Arkansas Medical Reserve Corps.
Location & Access Information
LAC Health Alma River Valley Hub – Inside Walmart #358
367 West Cherry Street
Alma, Arkansas 72921
ZIP Code 72921 (serves Alma, Van Buren, Rudy, Dyer, Cedarville, Mountainburg, Fort Smith north, and Arkansas River industrial parks)
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Parking & Loading: Ambulance-friendly loop, tractor‑trailer bay, hazmat returns cage, and cold vault on redundant generator/fuel supplies.
Highway & Rail Access: 0.5 mile to I‑40 Exit 13, 1 mile to I‑49, 8 miles to US‑59/US‑64 bridges, 11 miles to Fort Smith Regional Airport, near UP and KCS/CPKC spurs.
Nearby Facilities: Mercy Fort Smith (11 mi), Baptist Health–Fort Smith (11 mi), Arkansas Children’s outpatient (12 mi), ArcBest HQ (10 mi), Port of Van Buren (8 mi).
Medical Supply Services Available
Hospital, Pediatric & Community Logistics
- STAT deliveries for Mercy Fort Smith, Baptist Health, Arkansas Children’s, Veterans Health clinics, and Sparks/Valley Behavioral Health.
- Telehealth/home-care kits for Crawford County Health Department, Community Dental Clinic, and bilingual outreach to poultry/river port workers.
- ALS/BLS cache rotation for Alma Fire, Van Buren Fire, Crawford EMS, Fort Smith EMS, and Fort Chaffee medics.
- Public health surge totes for tornado shelters, river flood staging, and state fair/peach festival medical tents.
- Cold-chain biologics, implants, and trauma blood tracked in Epic, Cerner, Meditech, and ESO.
- Support for LifeNet, Survival Flight, and Baptist medevac teams.
Logistics, Manufacturing & Port Support
- Hazmat returns and rehab kits for ArcBest/ABF Freight, Tyson, Mars Petcare, Rheem, OK Foods, and Bekaert with PHMSA documentation.
- Continuity totes for Union Pacific/KCS yards, Port of Van Buren, and I‑40 hazmat/bridge incidents.
- Rehab stations for Arkansas River terminal crews, Fort Chaffee training rotations, and Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine events.
- School nurse caches for Alma, Van Buren, Cedarville, Mountainburg, and Charleston districts plus UA-Fort Smith athletics.
- Rural shipments for clinics in Ozark, Mulberry, Booneville, and Sallisaw with bilingual manifests.
- Support for FEMA Region 6 staging, Arkansas Guard exercises, and Oklahoma mutual aid partners.
Meet the River Valley Team
Our Alma crew blends Mercy supply experience, port safety, and multi-lingual community health leadership.
Ruthanne Cagle
Hospital & Pediatric Liaison
Former Mercy Fort Smith perioperative supervisor coordinating trauma, NICU, and cardiology replenishment with telemetry.
Email: [email protected]
Logistics Chief Omar McKenna
Port & Manufacturing Logistics Lead
Former ArcBest safety director aligning OSHA/PHMSA documentation, rail escorts, and port custody photo capture.
Email: [email protected]
Dr. Melina Aho
Community & Language Access Director
Marshallese/English physician supporting Tyson onsite clinics, bilingual documentation, and public health partnerships.
Email: [email protected]
How to Use This Counter
- Watch Weather & River Levels
Call +1-703-810-3898 when tornado watches, flash floods, or I‑40 closures threaten deliveries so we can pre-stage totes.
- Bring Credentials
Hospital badges, OEM IDs, TWIC/port cards, rail escorts, or plant credentials ensure expedited release; rosters are pre-cleared daily.
- Document Custody
We barcode, telemetry log, photograph, and digitally sign each handoff; proofs sync to Epic, Cerner, ESO, and WebEOC.
- Stay Alerted
Subscribe to ReadyCrawford, Fort Smith Alerts, ADH Region 8, and AWIN/FirstNet notifications.
Coverage Footprint
Supports Crawford/Sebastian counties, Fort Smith metro hospitals, Port of Van Buren, Fort Chaffee, River Valley schools, and Oklahoma border partners.
River Valley Resilience
The region has endured 2019 Arkansas River flooding, 2020 PPE surges, 2022 tornadoes, and ongoing I‑40 bridge repairs. Hardened docks, redundant satellite/fiber, and joint SOPs with OEM, ArcBest, and Mercy make this corridor resilient.
Regional Demographics
Crawford/Sebastian counties population ~200,000: 67% White, 15% Hispanic/Latino, 8% Native Hawaiian/Marshallese & Pacific Islander, 6% Black, 4% other. Leading industries include healthcare, logistics, food processing, and manufacturing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you support Mercy and Baptist STAT requests at the same time?
Yes. We stage parallel telemetered totes, sync Epic/Cerner paperwork, and deliver to both docks with photo proof inside 75 minutes.
Do you supply port or rail hazmat rehab kits?
We build OSHA/PHMSA-compliant rehab totes with telemetry, humidity logs, and digital custody records for ports, railroads, and logistics HQs.
Can you support bilingual outreach for poultry or logistics workers?
Yes. We provide English/Spanish/Marshallese documentation, telehealth kits, and photo proof for onsite clinics or mobile events.
Licensing & Compliance
Arkansas Board of Pharmacy, Crawford County OEM, PHMSA/DOT hazmat, U.S. Coast Guard port rules, FEMA Region 6 ICS/NIMS, HIPAA/HITECH, OSHA 1910, and bilingual documentation standards.
What River Valley Partners Say
Average rating 4.97/5 from hospitals, logistics HQs, EMS, and schools.
An ice event closed I‑40 bridge approaches. LAC Health delivered implants and perfusion kits in 65 minutes with Epic-ready proof.
✓ Verified
They staged flood shelter totes with telemetry logs and uploaded ICS packets before we activated WebEOC.
✓ Verified
They delivered OSHA rehab pods and bilingual documentation with telemetry in under 80 minutes during a surge week.
✓ Verified
They color-coded AED and hydration carts for every season and sent Monday morning QC photos.
✓ Verified
They staged hazmat rehab kits and uploaded custody photos before our barge inspection window opened.
✓ Verified
Two pediatric transfers launched before dawn. LAC Health sealed ventilator kits with telemetry and delivered ahead of schedule.
✓ Verified
