May 13, 2012
Saint Francis Medical Center has announced an extensive expansion and renovation project that will begin early next year. The $127 million project, approved by the Board of Directors and overseen by architectural firm Ohlson Lavoie Collaborative, will be completed in 2016.
This purposeful and aggressive two-part construction plan includes erecting an Orthopedic and Neurosciences Center, a five-story tower with surgical and medical services featuring private rooms and a new main entrance on the facility’s south side. Additionally, a new Women and Children’s Pavilion will be built off of the existing Family BirthPlace/Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) on the northeast side of the Medical Center.
“We have chosen to expand our facility and services further so that we can be better equipped to serve the needs of our community,” explains Steven C. Bjelich, FACHE-D, President and Chief Executive Officer at Saint Francis. “The more new technology and smart changes the Medical Center embraces, the more good we can do for the health and wellness of our patients and the community.”
These construction projects, with significant design input from Saint Francis physicians, nurses and staff, will create more specialized care and offer countless benefits to area patients. Key features of this renovation and expansion plan include:
• All private rooms to help control infection and create more comfort, which will fully complete the Medical Center’s transition to all private rooms (currently 59 percent private and 41 percent non-private rooms, including NICU beds)
• Dedicated areas and staff for orthopedics, neurosciences, rehabilitation, surgical and medical patients, and women and children’s services
• Family BirthPlace expansion
• Dedicated, updated patient elevators and “patient-only” corridors
• Private NICU rooms, supporting best practices in neonatology
• A stronger “front” presence on the south and a north atrium lobby distinguished as the Women and Children’s Center
“From now until the end of construction, we anticipate generating more than 500 full-time contracting jobs,” says Bjelich. “We also estimate about 45 current Saint Francis employees will work to complete the interior space of the new building, and anticipate a community impact of about 100 new jobs in nursing and other medical and support roles once the project is complete.”
“We are blessed to have this kind of commitment to Catholic healthcare in Cape Girardeau. I compare this new project to the Franciscan Sisters’ vision of moving the hospital to its current location 36 years ago,” says Bishop James V. Johnston Jr., of the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau. “This project continues Saint Francis’ tradition of innovation in healthcare.”
“Cape Girardeau is proud of Saint Francis for taking the opportunity during this economic climate to expand and renovate its already top-of-the-line Medical Center,” says Mayor Harry E. Rediger. “Our city and region will surely benefit from the hundreds of jobs created from this ambitious project for decades to come.”
“A new Orthopedic and Neurosciences Center will provide additional convenience and comfort to the anyone in the region who counts on Saint Francis for the highest quality orthopedic care,” says Michael C. Trueblood, MD, orthopedic surgeon at Saint Francis. “A larger, more up-to-date facility will further our unique mission of using state-of-the-art orthopedic care to return all the healthy adults we see to their active, normal lives as quickly as possible.”
“The new Orthopedic and Neurosciences Center will allow patients easier and more efficient access to top-notch neurological and neurosurgical care, in an environment that ensures their comfort and privacy,” says David G. Yingling, MD, neurosurgeon at Saint Francis.
To learn more about this upcoming construction project, visit www.sfmc.net/BuildingonExcellence.htm
The architect’s renderings of Saint Francis Medical Center’s extensive expansion and renovation project show the north and south faces of the building. The $127 million project, approved by the Board of Directors and overseen by architectural firm Ohlson Lavoie Collaborative, will be completed in 2016.