Landmark Hospital to open in February

Landmark Hospital, a 30-bed long-term care facility under construction at 3255 Independence St., just west of Mount Auburn Road, expects to open its doors to its first patients Feb. 22.

Construction on the acute-care facility is about 80 percent finished, said Debbie Taylor, assistant administrator.

"We'll have a state survey on the 21st," Taylor said. "That's why we'll have patients on the 22nd."

In April of 2005, the Missouri Health Facilities Review Committee of Jefferson City approved the certificate of need for the $5 million facility.

Landmark Hospital will provide treatment and diagnosis for patients with chronic diseases or complex medical conditions who need hospitalization for at least 25 days to comply with Medicare regulations. Most patients are expected to be elderly with Medicare coverage, but Taylor said the facility will accept any patient over age 18 with a "medically complex condition."

Patients at Landmark are expected to be those who are too sick to be in skilled nursing facilities, but not sick enough to stay in acute care facilities in regular hospitals.

Landmark will add another level to the level of care offered in this area. It will not compete with the hospitals or with nursing homes, but instead will work with them to provide a level of care not yet being met.

The advantage to having a facility like Landmark, Taylor said, is that the patient can continue to receive care from his primary physician with whom he already has a rapport, and not be turned over to another doctor in an unfamiliar community. The patient can also remain near his family while undergoing treatment. The closest acute-care facilities already in place are in either St. Louis or Memphis.

"It's difficult for families and patients to be displaced in a community," Taylor said. "They can't remain in their own physician's care and it's tough on the family."

Any local physician may have privileges at Landmark, Taylor said. Referrals will come solely from physicians at Southeast Hospital, Saint Francis Medical Center and other area hospitals and nursing homes. Landmark will not offer an emergency room service, and will purchase laboratory and operating room services from other area hospitals. The facility will be staffed with registered nurses, respiratory therapists, nurse assistants, a dietitian and a social worker, and will provide physical, occupational and speech therapists on an as-needed basis.

Landmark is expected to draw patients from 25-county area in Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois within 75 miles of Cape Girardeau. When the doors first open, Taylor said, Landmark will admit no more than a half dozen patients for the first six months. After that, when Medicare sees the average length of stay, Landmark can take up to 30 patients.

Saint Francis Medical Center controls about 30 percent of Landmark's operations. Landmark partners, CEO Michael Norman and Dr. William Kapp, hold the remainder.

Landmark expects to host an open house to the community sometime in January.