New hospital in O'Fallon, Mo., on target for February opening
By Nancy Cambria
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
12/11/2006
The new Progress West Healthcare Center at Highway "K" and Highway 40.
(Sam Leone/P-D)
O'FALLON — St. Charles County's first new hospital in more than two decades is expected to open in late February at Highways 40 and K.
More than 350 physicians in 24 different specialties have applied for privileges to practice at the 72-bed Progress West HealthCare Center, a member of the BJC HealthCare system.
The high number of applicants ensures that the $75 million hospital will far surpass its initial goal of 200 physicians. It also points to the rapidly developing growth and need in the southern section of St. Charles County, President John Antes said.
The group includes doctors from established areas of St. Charles County seeking to expand their practices, as well as physicians from western St. Louis County and other area hospitals, including Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, he said. Advertisement
Antes is in charge of an executive staff and leadership team of 70, many of whom have been working out of temporary facilities in nearby WingHaven. Moving day for that staff is slated for next Monday. An additional 115 employees, including 55 nurses, are expected to report for work in the 180,000-square-foot hospital on Jan. 2. The hospital aims initially to employ the equivalent of 230 full-time employees and expects to fill 35 remaining positions by opening day.
Hospital spokeswoman Barbara McLaurine said administrators had the luxury of choosing from a pool of experienced nursing candidates. The average tenure within the current nursing staff is 17 years, and none of the hires has come directly from nursing school. The hospital drew candidates from around the region, she said.
Final licensing awaits
Although staff members will report to work in less than a month, it will likely be 21/2 months before the hospital opens to patients. The facility, which is receiving its last cosmetic touches, such as tile flooring and carpeting, still needs to gain final licensing from the state Department of Health.
Antes said the licensing process has been under way for some time, and a final survey by the state should be done during the first few weeks of the new year. When the hospital does open, it will fill beds gradually.
"We want to ensure safety and patient satisfaction first," Antes said.
Before opening, the staff will first go through a traditional orientation and then learn operating procedures in the new facility, including how to run new equipment, much of which they say is unique to the St. Louis area. That includes voice-operated devices on necklaces that enable the staff to talk throughout the hospital and individual, decentralized nursing stations and a floor-by-floor pharmacy system.
The five-story hospital will provide a 12-room, around-the-clock emergency department, a six-bed intensive care unit, inpatient and outpatient surgery, a six-bed labor and delivery area, all private inpatient rooms, an endoscopy suite and various diagnostic laboratories and services.
Additionally, the hospital is partnering with St. Louis Children's Hospital and will provide in-house pediatric emergency physicians for two pediatric emergency rooms, as well as on-call neonatologists to provide specialty newborn care in the hospital's obstetrics unit.
McLaurine said the hospital also has completely leased 20,000 square feet of private office space to 40 physicians from 15 different practices.
Maxed-out space
Progress West HealthCare Center will be St. Charles County's fifth hospital and joins its sister BJC hospital, Barnes-Jewish St. Peters. SSM Health Care operates St. Joseph Health Center in St. Charles, St. Joseph Hospital West in Lake Saint Louis and St. Joseph Health Center-Wentzville.
Despite objections that included SSM officials who argued that an additional hospital was not needed in the county, BJC HealthCare gained unanimous approval from the state Health Facilities Review Committee to build the new hospital in March 2004.
BJC and its proponents argued that the new hospital was needed to meet the demands of the growing population in the southern section of the county.
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/s ... enDocument
By Nancy Cambria
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
12/11/2006
The new Progress West Healthcare Center at Highway "K" and Highway 40.
(Sam Leone/P-D)
O'FALLON — St. Charles County's first new hospital in more than two decades is expected to open in late February at Highways 40 and K.
More than 350 physicians in 24 different specialties have applied for privileges to practice at the 72-bed Progress West HealthCare Center, a member of the BJC HealthCare system.
The high number of applicants ensures that the $75 million hospital will far surpass its initial goal of 200 physicians. It also points to the rapidly developing growth and need in the southern section of St. Charles County, President John Antes said.
The group includes doctors from established areas of St. Charles County seeking to expand their practices, as well as physicians from western St. Louis County and other area hospitals, including Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, he said. Advertisement
Antes is in charge of an executive staff and leadership team of 70, many of whom have been working out of temporary facilities in nearby WingHaven. Moving day for that staff is slated for next Monday. An additional 115 employees, including 55 nurses, are expected to report for work in the 180,000-square-foot hospital on Jan. 2. The hospital aims initially to employ the equivalent of 230 full-time employees and expects to fill 35 remaining positions by opening day.
Hospital spokeswoman Barbara McLaurine said administrators had the luxury of choosing from a pool of experienced nursing candidates. The average tenure within the current nursing staff is 17 years, and none of the hires has come directly from nursing school. The hospital drew candidates from around the region, she said.
Final licensing awaits
Although staff members will report to work in less than a month, it will likely be 21/2 months before the hospital opens to patients. The facility, which is receiving its last cosmetic touches, such as tile flooring and carpeting, still needs to gain final licensing from the state Department of Health.
Antes said the licensing process has been under way for some time, and a final survey by the state should be done during the first few weeks of the new year. When the hospital does open, it will fill beds gradually.
"We want to ensure safety and patient satisfaction first," Antes said.
Before opening, the staff will first go through a traditional orientation and then learn operating procedures in the new facility, including how to run new equipment, much of which they say is unique to the St. Louis area. That includes voice-operated devices on necklaces that enable the staff to talk throughout the hospital and individual, decentralized nursing stations and a floor-by-floor pharmacy system.
The five-story hospital will provide a 12-room, around-the-clock emergency department, a six-bed intensive care unit, inpatient and outpatient surgery, a six-bed labor and delivery area, all private inpatient rooms, an endoscopy suite and various diagnostic laboratories and services.
Additionally, the hospital is partnering with St. Louis Children's Hospital and will provide in-house pediatric emergency physicians for two pediatric emergency rooms, as well as on-call neonatologists to provide specialty newborn care in the hospital's obstetrics unit.
McLaurine said the hospital also has completely leased 20,000 square feet of private office space to 40 physicians from 15 different practices.
Maxed-out space
Progress West HealthCare Center will be St. Charles County's fifth hospital and joins its sister BJC hospital, Barnes-Jewish St. Peters. SSM Health Care operates St. Joseph Health Center in St. Charles, St. Joseph Hospital West in Lake Saint Louis and St. Joseph Health Center-Wentzville.
Despite objections that included SSM officials who argued that an additional hospital was not needed in the county, BJC HealthCare gained unanimous approval from the state Health Facilities Review Committee to build the new hospital in March 2004.
BJC and its proponents argued that the new hospital was needed to meet the demands of the growing population in the southern section of the county.
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/s ... enDocument
