St. Francis Medical Center - From 12 rooms to prominence

In keeping with its goal to provide the best medical care close to home, St. Francis Healthcare System was first in the region to introduce stereotactic radiosurgery and Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy, the most advanced and precise radiation therapies for cancer care in the world. Used to treat brain tumors and cancer anywhere in the body, stereotactic radiosurgery and IMRT are among the many leading-edge technologies and advanced medical procedures available through St. Francis.

From its humble beginnings as a 12-room hospital, St. Francis has grown to become a nationally recognized tertiary care medical center. St. Francis Medical Center is a clinical leader recognized nationally for service excellence. As a regional leader in obstetrics and neonatal care, cancer care, heart services, neurosciences, orthopaedics and emergency services, St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau serves more than 250,000 people in the five-state area of Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee and Arkansas.

Family BirthPlaceThe St. Francis Family BirthPlace offers the comforts of birthing suites where women can experience labor, delivery, recovery and postpartum in one room and have reassurance with the region's only Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit available between St. Louis and Memphis. The Level III NICU has two board-certified, fellowship-trained neonatologists specially trained to care for premature and critically ill newborns.

Supported by neonatal nurse practitioners, respiratory therapists and a specialty staff, these experts blend state-of-the-art equipment with a holistic approach to care for precious patients and their families. Since its induction only two years ago, St. Francis is expanding its neonatal capabilities to help more families stay close to home for the care they need.

Cancer careSt. Francis offers a full range of cancer care and support services. Working with the oncology experts at the Cancer Institute of Cape Girardeau, LLC., St. Francis patients have access to stereotactic radiosurgery and Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy, the most sophisticated radiation treatments in the world. The medical center also offers advanced diagnostics, such as Positron Emission Tomography and participates in clinical treatment trials through the St. Louis-Cape Girardeau Community Clinical Oncology Program. Pastoral care and support groups are also available to patients and their families for emotional and spiritual healing.

Heart InstituteThe Saint Francis Heart Institute ranks among the "Best in Missouri" and among the top medical facilities in the nation for overall vascular services as published by HealthGrades.com, an independent research organization. St. Francis was also awarded five stars for peripheral vascular interventional procedures and peripheral vascular bypass. The Heart Institute participates in quality benchmark studies and has patient outcomes, such as length of stay and complication rates, that are better than national and international averages.

St. Francis' cardiac services include advanced diagnostics, the latest treatments and surgeries, and education for the prevention of heart disease. A special endovascular suite equipped to manage high-tech, minimally invasive procedures that quickly converts to an open surgery suite if needed is also available. St. Francis is also the first medical center in the state to adopt the Women's HeartAdvantage program aimed at educating women about their risk for heart disease, which claims the lives of more women than any other disease.

Neurosciences InstituteThe Neurosciences Institute provides preventive education, advanced diagnostics, intervention, surgery, emergency care and rehabilitation for injuries and diseases of the brain and spine. St. Francis' advanced level of stroke care has received Stroke Center classification and is ranked No. 1 in the region and rated among the top 5 percent in the nation by HealthGrades.com. HCIA-Sachs Institute (Solucient) also rated the Stroke Center as a Top 100 U.S. Stroke Hospital. The Stroke Center's nationally recognized education, prevention, diagnostics, treatment and rehabilitation programs are part of St. Francis' Neurosciences Institute.

Thomas G. Otto, MD, Orthopaedic InstituteRanked "Best in Missouri" two years in a row by HealthGrades.com, St. Francis' orthopaedic services has earned five-star ratings for overall orthopaedic services, total knee replacement, hip fracture repair, joint surgery, partial hip surgery, and back and neck surgery (with and without spinal fusion). The newly constructed unit provides advanced diagnostics, treatment, surgery and rehabilitation services that help patients rapidly restore maximum function. Patients can begin the rehabilitation process at the bedside in the comfort of spacious, private patient suites at St. Francis Medical Center.

Gene E. Huckstep Emergency Center and Convenient CareThe St. Francis Gene E. Huckstep Emergency Center takes trauma care to the next level. It provides 24-hour advanced diagnostics and an experienced staff comprised of hospital-based emergency physicians, nurse practitioners, trauma nurse specialists, emergency medicine technicians, respiratory therapists and patient advocates. Acknowledging the quick attention minor illnesses and injuries require, St. Francis Medical Center established Convenient Care (the first walk-in facility of its kind sponsored by a hospital in Southeast Missouri). Convenient Care is located adjacent to the Emergency Center and is open from 9 am to 9 pm, seven days a week.

St. Francis Health and Wellness Center

Opening in October 2004, the St. Francis Health and Wellness Center is the region's first medically integrated fitness and wellness center that will offer nutrition and fitness management programs, diabetes education, cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation, outpatient rehabilitation, sports acceleration, massage therapy, and more. Physicians' offices will also be located in the building, providing convenient access to medical center services for physicians and patients.

Fitness Plus

Opening in October 2004, Fitness Plus will be different from traditional health clubs by offering services to fit the unique health profiles and fitness goals of each person served. Patients and members will have access to exercise specialists, personal trainers and exercise physiologists to help meet rehabilitation, prevention and fitness goals. Exercise studios, contemporary locker rooms with saunas and steam rooms, family changing rooms, a four-lane lap pool, exercise pool, warm water therapy pool, coed whirlpool, baby-sitting and a deli offering nutritious refreshments are among the many amenities that will also be available. For more information, please call 573-331-3355.

St. Francis Medical Center also offers a variety of highly respected specialty services including the Wound Healing Center, Universal Health & Fitness Center, Womancare, Healing Arts Pharmacy, Home Health, Sleep Well program, Pain Management Center, Sports Medicine and more. For a complete list of services, please visit www.sfmc.net.

St. Francis is extending its healing mission through a joint venture with Poplar Bluff Medical Partners. The partnership is resulting in a 32-acre campus at U.S. Hwy. 67 bypass and PP Hwy. that includes a diagnostic imaging center, a diagnostic cardiac catheterization lab and an ambulatory surgery center.