Psych hospital project moves forward in Cape

Plans to establish a $29.2 million, 102-bed psychiatric hospital in Cape Girardeau will move forward now that a state board has given its approval.

The Missouri Health Facilities Review Committee unanimously approved the project Monday under the state's Certificate of Need law, which regulates the number of hospital beds a community may have and the types of equipment hospitals may purchase.

The new behavioral health center would cover adult and adolescent inpatient care along with a coordinated outpatient program.

The project is a joint venture involving at least Universal Health Services and Southeast Hospital, according to the 46-page application submitted to the review committee.

In an emailed statement Tuesday, SoutheastHEALTH officials said Universal Health Services is one of the nation's largest hospital management companies.

Universal Health Services (UHS) owns, operates or manages more than 350 facilities, mostly dealing with behavioral health care, in 37 states, the application states.

"We are extremely pleased to partner with UHS to provide additional behavioral health services," SoutheastHEALTH president and CEO Ken Bateman said in the statement. "Together we will provide innovative, best-practice behavioral health care."

According to the statement, "UHS is interested in Cape Girardeau because of its central location in Southeast Missouri and the increasing need for behavioral health services across the population."

The new hospital, which will operate independently from SoutheastHEALTH, likely will be located on undeveloped land on the West Campus owned by Southeast, near the Southeast Cancer Center and Southeast Medical Plaza, according to the statement.

"It is anticipated that a groundbreaking will be held in early fall," SoutheastHEALTH officials said.

State Rep. Kathy Swan, R-Cape Girardeau, said Tuesday "it's fabulous news."

Swan said Saint Francis Medical Center has discussed participating in the project. The application itself makes no mention of Saint Francis Medical Center.

Saint Francis Medical Center president and CEO Maryann Reese wrote a letter of support for the project to the review committee last week.

"This project would address a severe regional need by improving access to mental health services in Southeast Missouri," she wrote.

She added, "Saint Francis recognizes the importance of such a facility in the community as well as the importance of collaboration, where possible."

Cape Girardeau County Sheriff John Jordan and state Sen. Wayne Wallingford, R-Cape Girardeau, also voiced support for the project in letters submitted last week.

Jordan's officers "transport patients to mental health facilities all across the state based upon available bed space. Often by the time a court order is received from the judge ordering us to take a person for a mental health evaluation, the bed becomes unavailable and valuable time is lost for that particular person in need. There are not enough voluntary inpatient beds in Cape Girardeau and none available for involuntary commitments," he wrote.

Plans call for constructing a 68,800-square-foot facility, which would have 52 rooms, of which two would have one licensed bed each and 50 would have two licensed beds each, according to the application summary posted online by the Health Facilities Review Committee.

A 20-acre tract in the vicinity of South Mount Auburn and South Silver Springs roads was identified in the application as the site for the new facility.

According to summary information from the state's review committee, construction could begin later this year and be completed in May of 2019. Plans call for the hospital to be in operation by July 2019, the summary stated.

The hospital would serve a 17-county area of Southeast Missouri: Cape Girardeau, Bollinger, Butler, Carter, Dunklin, Iron, Madison, Mississippi, New Madrid, Perry, Reynolds, Ripley, Ste. Genevieve, St. Francois, Scott, Stoddard and Wayne counties.

There are few psychiatric patient beds in the region. According to the Health Facilities Review Committee summary of the project application, there are only 116 psychiatric beds combined in five medical facilities in the region.

SoutheastHEALTH had 14 licensed psychiatric beds each of the last three years, the summary stated. Annual occupancy of those beds ranged from 47.5 percent to 57.2 percent over those three years, according to the summary.

Swan, Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce president John Mehner, and then-Mayor Harry Rediger all wrote letters in support of the project earlier this year. Those letters were included in the application submitted to the review committee in February.

"Currently, there is a serious need to improve access to mental health services not only in Cape Girardeau, but in the entire Southeast Missouri area from Ste. Genevieve to the southernmost counties of the state," Swan wrote.

She said patients often must await transportation to "one of only a few remaining acute psychiatry beds in this part of the state."

mbliss@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3641

Pertinent address:

South Mount Auburn Road and South Silver Springs Road, Cape Girardeau, Mo.