Mercy targets winter opening for emergency department on southeast side

Mercy Springfield Communities leaders were at the construction site of its new emergency department this week to get a progress update.

Ettie Berneking, media relations and communications manager for Mercy, said a winter opening is now expected for the emergency department along U.S. Highway 65 between Springfield and Ozark. Mercy broke ground in October 2023 on the $32 million, 17,250-square-foot building at 3050 E. River Bluff Drive that's attached to its orthopedic hospital.

Berneking said members of Mercy's leadership team were on-site March 26 to sign one of the concrete pillars that will be part of the emergency department's patient check-in area.

"As a medical hub for the region, Springfield has seen an increase in the patient volumes arriving at emergency rooms. At Mercy, we’re seeing about 1,000 additional patients each month compared to last year," Berneking said via email. "This new ED will provide care closer to home for many of our patients who live in Ozark and Nixa and help alleviate wait times."

At the new facility, Mercy estimates it will have 16,500 patient visits annually, with an average of 1,500 visits per room, she said. The facility is slated to have 11 beds, including seven standard treatment rooms, a trauma room and an isolation room, as well as dedicated imaging, a lab, pharmacy, public safety and other resources.

St. Louis-based McCarthy Building Cos. Inc. is the general contractor for the project designed by project architect REES Associates Inc., of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and landscape architect Olsson Inc., according to past reporting.

Mercy officials originally targeted an early 2025 completion date. That was later pushed further back in 2025.