Fayetteville is the seat of Washington County. The city had about 106,600 residents in 2025 by Census Bureau estimates, and Washington County had about 271,200. Only 9.8% of Fayetteville residents were 65 or older in the 2020 to 2024 American Community Survey, and the county was 13.3% in the 2025 estimates, well under the state's 19.0%. In practice, many of the people reading your site will be adult children making a decision for a parent, so write for them: cost, visiting, how you communicate with family.
The main local hospital is Washington Regional Medical Center on North Northhills Boulevard, which also runs its own home health service. Veterans use the Fayetteville VA Medical Center, part of the Veterans Health Care System of the Ozarks, which has its own Community Living Center. In Springdale, the former Northwest Medical Center became Freeman Health System - Springdale Medical Center after Freeman completed its purchase of Northwest Health on June 1, 2026. Freeman says more naming updates are coming, so check that your referral pages and partner lists use the current names. Mercy Hospital Northwest Arkansas in Rogers rounds out the region.
Language access is a real local issue. In the 2020 to 2024 American Community Survey, 17.5% of Washington County residents age 5 and up spoke a language other than English at home, and in Springdale it was 40.3%. DHS publishes its long-term care Medicaid application in English, Spanish and Marshallese. If your staff speak other languages, say so on the site, and consider translated pages for admissions and visiting.
Northwest Arkansas has local senior programs that families will compare against. DHS lists PACE of the Ozarks in Springdale. UAMS runs the Schmieding Center for Senior Health and Education in Springdale, which holds caregiver events such as dementia education. A provider site that explains where it fits next to these programs answers a question families are already asking.
Hospitals and health systems that refer patients
- Washington Regional Medical Center
- Fayetteville VA Medical Center (Veterans Health Care System of the Ozarks)
- Freeman Health System - Springdale Medical Center
- Mercy Hospital Northwest Arkansas (Rogers)
Towns families search from
Springdale, Farmington, Prairie Grove, Johnson, Elkins, Greenland, West Fork, Lincoln, Rogers. A good Fayetteville site names the places your residents and their families actually come from.
Arkansas rules that apply here
Licensing, inspections, payment programs and the ombudsman for Fayetteville are set at the state level. See what a Arkansas care provider website should show.
Questions
What happened to Northwest Health in Springdale?
Freeman Health System completed its acquisition of Northwest Health on June 1, 2026. The Springdale hospital is now listed as Freeman Health System - Springdale Medical Center, and Freeman has said more naming updates will follow.
Should a Fayetteville care provider offer pages in other languages?
Consider it. Census Bureau data show 40.3% of Springdale residents age 5 and up speak a language other than English at home, and DHS itself offers its long-term care Medicaid packet in Spanish and Marshallese.
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Arkansas and Little Rock, Fayetteville, Fort Smith, Jonesboro and Bentonville cities
- U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Pulaski, Washington, Benton, Sebastian, Craighead and Saline counties
- U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Bella Vista, Rogers and Springdale cities; Crawford, Greene and Faulkner counties
- U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: language spoken at home, Washington, Benton and Sebastian counties; Fort Smith, Bentonville and Fayetteville
- Washington Regional
- VA: Fayetteville VA Medical Center (Veterans Health Care System of the Ozarks)
- Freeman Health System: Completes acquisition of Northwest Health (June 1, 2026)
- Freeman Health System, Northwest Arkansas locations
- Mercy Hospital Northwest Arkansas
- UAMS Health
- Arkansas DHS: Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS) Medicaid Assistance
