SoutheastHEALTH to assume control of Dexter hospital early

The lease agreement between SoutheastHEALTH and the Dexter Community Regional Hospital Foundation that was scheduled to begin in 2019 will now be in effect at the end of the year.

A 10-year-lease between SoutheastHEALTH and the Dexter, Mo., foundation starting Dec. 31 will replace the foundation's expiring lease with SunLink Health Systems of Atlanta. SunLink has leased the 50-bed Dexter hospital, called Missouri Southern Healthcare, since 2000.

"We look forward to partnering with the foundation," said Jim Limbaugh, executive vice president of planning and business development at SoutheastHEALTH, which operates Southeast Hospital in Cape Girardeau. "We've maintained a satellite cardiac-rehabilitation clinic in Dexter since 1998, but the new arrangement is an exciting opportunity to bring high-quality health care not just to Dexter but to the Stoddard County area."

Darla Grossman, foundation president, said she is happy that SoutheastHEALTH is coming sooner rather than later.

"I think the services they will provide for the area will be amazing," Grossman said. "SoutheastHEALTH came to us about two years ago to explore the possibility of operating the facility, and they seemed to be the best fit for providing health care to the community."

Grossman added that the relationship the foundation will have with SoutheastHEALTH with be that of landlord-tenant.

"Just like before, the foundation will not involved in the day-to-day operations of the hospital," she said. "We're just the landlord at the hospital and will collect the rent."

According to Limbaugh, both SunLink and SoutheastHEALTH saw an opportunity to expedite the remaining time on SunLink's lease with the foundation.

"We were already going to assume a new lease in 2019," he said. "We went to SunLink and asked what we could be doing now instead of waiting more than six years for their lease to expire. An agreement was reached and it was advantageous for us both."

Limbaugh added that an agreement-in-principle has also been reached with SunLink wherein the Atlanta company will continue to manage the facility for six months after SoutheastHEALTH's lease begins in December.

"We want an orderly and seamless transition with SunLink, and having them continue to manage the hospital while we are coming aboard will allow for that. Furthermore, we don't foresee making any major changes to the current operation at Missouri Southern."

SoutheastHEALTH's lease of the Dexter hospital is the latest in a series of regional partnerships over the past two years, including taking over of the operations of the Ripley County Memorial Hospital in 2010 and joining with Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston, Mo., to form a new company, Servir, to manage a common networking and data storage center for both organizations.

SoutheastHEALTH also has plans for a new family medical clinic in Dexter to be located on property near the hospital, which is not a part of the lease agreement. The clinic will offer services provided by SoutheastHEALTH specialists, including cardiology, neurology and endocrinology.

"We anticipate for plans and specifications for the clinic to be finalized within the next few months," Limbaugh said.

klewis@semissourian.com

388-3635

Pertinent address:

1200 N. One Mile Road, Dexter, MO

1701 Lacey St., Cape Girardeau, MO