CAIRO MEGA-CLINIC GOING UP; FACILITY WILL HANDLE MOST OF CAIRO'S MEDICAL NEEDS

CAIRO, Ill. -- Construction of a 20,000-square-foot mega-clinic, which officials say will take care of 75 percent of the Cairo area's medical needs, is progressing ahead of schedule.

The medical clinic, which will include outpatient surgery, a dental clinic, and emergency room, is on a five-acre plot near the Interstate 57-Route 3 intersection north of Cairo.

"This will be a big plus for our area," said Cairo Mayor James Wilson. "We're hoping to see the new facility open by July."

"We're ahead of schedule," said Fred Bernstein, director of Community Health Services Inc. of Cairo. "When we started construction in June, we felt it would be 14 months before completion. Now it looks like the timetable will be narrowed by at least a month."

Bernstein said the clinic will "help us keep our present physicians and will help in our recruiting of other medical specialists."

The clinic will replace the Community Health Services facility on the top four floors of the Post Office Building in Cairo.

The city has been without emergency room facilities since 1988. Cairo's hospital, faced with financial difficulties, closed in 1986, and Community Health contracted with the state to keep the emergency room open. Funds dried up and the emergency service was closed in August 1988.

Since then residents of Alexander and Pulaski counties have had to go to hospitals in Cape Girardeau, Sikeston and Anna to receive emergency care.

Health Services, which started in 1974, was operated by the Cairo Hospital until it became a separate entity in 1980. The organization is not designed to handle emergencies now.

The new center will eventually offer 24-hour emergency service, said Bernstein. "At first the emergency room will be open only when the clinic is open," he said.

Bernstein said clinic hours will be 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. once the new facility opens. Current hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.