Local health facilities to expand, renovate

Expansion and renovation of area health care facilities is an ongoing process.

Cox and St. John's health systems both received Missouri Certificate of Need approval Dec. 13 to add new magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, units to their facilities.

Now the unit at Ozark Magnetic Imaging, at 1344 E. Woodhurst Dr., serves both hospitals, with some patients transported by ambulance for testing.

"It has been a disadvantage to take the patient off campus to have an MRI done at the shared facility, especially when they are critically ill or injured," said Mike Peters, community relations director for St. John's.

Construction is under way on the first floor at St. John's in a space formerly used as a storage area. The estimated $2 million project will be completed by the end of March, Peters said.

Cox Health Systems is renovating an area on its ground floor, near the Critical Care Unit and the Emergency Room, for MRI services, according to Laurie Cunningham, director of public relations.

Construction on the room, which will include copper-lined walls, is estimated at $650,000. Equipment to fill the renovated space will cost another $1.5 million, Cunningham stated.

Cox also has a project afoot in Monett.

Plans for expansion and renovation of the Cox Monett Hospital began with an estimated $4.8 million budget, which has risen to a little more than $5 million as additions and adjustments have been made, according to Janell Patton, director of community relations at Cox Monett.

The plans are still in the design stage while the hospital waits for Missouri Certificate of Need approval, which it expects to get in June, Patton said.

Extensive renovation of the second floor medical and surgical area will also include renovation of patient rooms.

"Some of the rooms have not been updated in more than 30 years," she said. "Right now, all rooms don't have showers."

The Intensive Care Unit is scheduled for a face lift in the renovation process, and the third floor west wing, which now houses administration, will be renovated to house obstetrics. Administration will be moved to the third floor east wing, and home health care will go to the basement, where it will also have new offices, Patton said.

New surgery suites will be added, although it has not been determined how many. Along with the renovation, additional equipment and staff will be added as needed, Patton said.

Cox Monett has plans to add a multi-specialty unit clinic to the hospital and hire seven new physicians along with the expansion program, Patton said.

Two physicians have already been added as part of the expansion. Glenn Talboy, general surgeon, and Barbara Pierce, family practice, are already on staff, she added.

As an added perk, Pierce can speak some Spanish, which will be helpful with the recent influx of Hispanic residents in Lawrence and Barry counties which the hospital serves, Patton said.

Meanwhile, The Gardens Assisted Living Residential Community, located at the corner of Fort and Sunset, recently added a Special Needs Unit for individuals with Alzheimer's disease and other dementia, according to Administrator Debbie McCroskey.

McCroskey said that construction on the new unit, comprising 18 efficiency apartments and a separate dining room, began in late spring 1999 and was completed in October.

The Gardens added 10 specially trained employees to staff the new unit, which is about 50 percent occupied.

"All staff members in the unit go through Alzheimer's training before working with the patients," McCroskey said.

The apartments rent for $2,700 per month, and the facility is intended to provide an interim care environment for patients who are able to get out of bed on their own, she said.