Sisters of Mercy Health System yesterday laid out $650 million in expansion and construction projects at St. John's Hospital and its facilities in Springfield to be completed in a 10-year time span, according to a news release.
One change will bring most of St. John's Children's Hospital services under one roof in the hospital's H wing.
"The whole H wing is going to be renovated to become an entire location for all children's care," said Lisa Cox, media relations specialist for St. John's. "It's more convenient for not only all the patients but also the nurses and doctors that are taking care of these patients."
St. John's will relocate the St. Jude program - currently operating in the Jane Pitt Pediatric Cancer Center - to the H wing, and development of a Ronald McDonald House will place the 10-bedroom facility in the children's tower as well.
St. John's also has began construction July 11 to double the size of its neonatal intensive care unit to 56 beds in spring 2012. The unit will not be relocated to the hospital's H wing, Cox said.
Mercy officials also announced it begin construction of a new heart hospital just north of the hospital's east wing and east of emergency room parking, Cox said, noting the hospital does not yet have a name and is seeking donors.
The heart hospital would be in addition to the Hammons Heart Institute, a cardiopulmonary rehabilitation clinic of St. John's.
Design work will begin by mid-2012 on expansion of the St. John's emergency trauma center, and a pediatric emergency room would be added, the release said.
The Smith-Glynn-Callaway medical building of St. John's Clinic is getting a face lift, with remodeled clinic space and a new front entrance, though a timeline was not provided.
The release also included the St. John's Mercy Orthopedic Hospital, under construction at Highway 65 and Evans Road, which has a scheduled completion date of 2013.
Beyond construction and expansion, Mercy has contracted with Nashville, Tenn.-based HealthTeacher to provide no-cost health education resources to school districts in Missouri, Oklahoma, Kansas and Arkansas. In Springfield and surrounding communities, about 65 percent of school districts have committed to the program, according to the release.[[In-content Ad]]
A franchise store of a Branson West-based quilting business made its Queen City debut; Grateful Vase launched in Lebanon; and Branson entertainment venue The Social Birdy had its grand opening.
