St. John's to relocate, expand home care division

St. John's Home Care will soon be moving into new office space that will allow for current needs and anticipated growth.

St. John's Home Care will consolidate its five divisions - personal care, health care, therapy, infusion and hospice - into 34,000 square feet in the former Smitty's/Albertson's grocery store, 1570 W. Battlefield Road, leaving behind its current base of operations at 531 S. Union Ave., where Executive Director David Dennis said, "We are literally bursting (at) the seams."

The $1.5 million interior renovation - handled by general contractor Walton Construction - is scheduled for completion in mid-March.

The five home care divisions and business office will operate on Battlefield Road, but an outpatient pharmacy and medical supply office will remain on South National because that location is more accessible to patients, St. John's officials said.

Still, the Battlefield Road site will house roughly 100 home care employees, two-thirds of whom are nurses, therapists and personal aides who work much of the time in patients' homes.

Just the right spot

St. John's Home Care is leasing its Battlefield Road space from owner Davis Properties, and it will occupy the center area of the three-tenant building. The U.S. Social Security office is on one side, according to Patrick Harrington of Davis Properties, and a lease is pending for an undisclosed business on the other side.

"St. John's new site will include 40 offices, two conference rooms, three work spaces and a reception area," Harrington said. "Since the building was formerly a big open area, the renovation will require a lot of partitions, and a lot of extra plumbing and wiring. One of the big advantages of the site is the very large parking area."

According to Davis Properties Web site, base lease rates for the property are $8.25 per square foot, triple net.

Dennis said the Battlefield Road site was chosen for St. John's Home Care for several reasons, including more visibility. But also attractive is the available room to grow, he said.

"If our growth continues, as it has since 1995, we'll need more space within the next decade," he said. "If that happens, we've got a first right of refusal on some adjoining property so it would be a simple matter to expand."

Home care demand

Home care provides physician-ordered at-home services for those recovering from accident, illness or surgery.

According to the American Medical Association, the use of effective in-home patient care can shorten the length of a hospital stay by 20 percent.

St. John's has provided in-home health care to Springfield and in 35 Missouri counties and five Arkansas counties since the early 1980s. But the division took a giant step forward in 1995 when it acquired the local office of the Visiting Nurses Association of America, according to St. John's officials. Cora Scott, St. John's media relations director, said that purchase brought in a large number of rural patients and the professional and office staff necessary to care for them. At that point, she said, "Things got pretty crowded."

Since 1995, patient numbers in the Home Care division have increased an average of 2 percent per year, though specific numbers were not disclosed. Dennis said 2006-07 brought a 7 percent increase compared to the previous year, and the percentage jumped 13 percent for 2007-08.

He attributes the growth to marketing efforts to those who need care at home.

And Dennis said the move will provide one key advantage as more patients are served.

"Having everybody together will give us a much more efficient operation (and) will help us provide a continuity of care for our patients," he said.