PEA RIDGE, Ark. – Dr. Alan schumacher, owner of Pea Ridge Urgent Care clinic Co., has secured a deal with his lender and sold land to avert closure after the clinic faced significant financial difficulties following its April 1, 2024, opening.
Schumacher projected 40-45 patients daily by August 2025, but patient volume averaged around 20, leading to cash shortfalls. Rather than reduce his staff of 15, Schumacher liquidated his retirement savings and returned to work in local emergency rooms to cover payroll and supplies.
Recently, Schumacher sold 35 acres near the Big Sugar Golf Club to Franklin Miller of Benton County for $750,000. The proceeds are designated for outstanding mortgage payments to First Western Bank of Booneville, which had sued the clinic in July alleging a default on approximately $4 million in loans.
“The clinic has reached an agreement with First western Bank,” stated Kevin Keech, the clinic’s attorney from Little Rock.
Miller also provided Schumacher with $150,000 in exchange for a second mortgage on other property owned by the doctor. Schumacher anticipates this additional funding will sustain the clinic through next year, stating, “This time next year, the business shoudl be supporting itself.”
The clinic offers treatment for a range of conditions, from colds to broken bones, and employs advertising through social media, sponsorship of the Bentonville High School tennis team, and materials distributed by the Pea Ridge Fire Department to the city’s 10,000 residents.
Schumacher, a Pea Ridge resident since 2018, sought guidance from the Arkansas Small Business & Technology Progress Center at the University of Arkansas. Initial construction costs, projected at $2.5 million, ultimately reached $3.8 million due to pandemic-related supply chain issues.
“It’s my baby; it’s my passion,” Schumacher said. “I have no more IRAs or retirement funds. I’ve got every earthly possession that I have on the line for this. And I just really want to see it succeed, for myself, personally, [and] for my employees.”
