Mercy, a health care provider based in Chesterfield, has acquired a 52-acre site along Highway K in O'Fallon that is expected to be developed for a multipurpose medical treatment facility.
Or possibly a new hospital.
"It's certainly an option," said Don Kalicak, vice president of regional development for Mercy. But he added, "Truthfully we do not have a specific location or time line for building a hospital (in St. Charles County)."
The acquisition is part of Mercy's plans to establish new facilities serving patients from St. Charles, Lincoln and Warren counties. Last October, Mercy announced it would spend $2.4 billion on new facilities in the Ó£ÌÒÊÓƵ area.
Mercy officials earlier discussed a possible hospital location near Wentzville. Kalicak said there has been discussion about future facilities in Wentzville but no decision has been made. Meanwhile, Mercy has moved ahead with developing other medical offices in St. Charles County.
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Kalicak said the Highway K facility could be comparable to Mercy's 120,000-square-foot multipurpose treatment facility in Clarkson Valley in Ó£ÌÒÊÓƵ County. It also could be similar to SSM St. Joseph Medical Park, a 100,000-square-foot ambulatory care facility operated by SSM Health Care Corp. on 18 acres at 1475 Kisker Road in St. Peters.
The Highway K facility could be open in 2014, he said. Along with urgent care, the facility could offer diagnostic services including cancer and cardiac treatment, imaging, laboratory and outpatient surgical services and physicians' offices. The site could generate 250 jobs, he said, although it's unclear how many of those would be new positions.
The facility does need "certificate of need" approval from the Missouri Health Facilities Review Committee, a five-member board that decides whether to approve plans for acute-care hospitals. Kalicak said major medical equipment that costs more than $1 million would require the committee's review.
In June, Mercy finalized purchase of the 52 acres on the west side of Highway K, south of South Outer 364. The site is near the corridor for the $100 million third phase of Highway 364 (Page Avenue extension) planned by the Missouri Department of Transportation. Phase three will extend Highway 364 from Highway 94 at Mid Rivers Mall Drive to Interstate 64 in Lake Saint Louis.
Kalicak said the facility eventually would provide ready access to patients using the Page extension. The facility would be designed to include easy access to entry ways and covered vehicle drop-off areas, similar to what's being done at other new Mercy facilities.
No specific plans for a facility have been sent to O'Fallon officials for review. The property now is a vacant field with no buildings.
David Wood, the city's planning and development director, said last week that city officials have met with Mercy officials about their plans but have not discussed a hospital proposal.
The city is in the midst of reviewing plans for Mercy's 16,000-square-foot medical building off Technology Drive in the WingHaven development, across from the MasterCard complex. The Planning and Zoning Commission on Thursday recommended approval of a final plan for the proposed clinic. The City Council is expected to consider the plan during its Sept. 13 meeting.
Mercy also is continuing work on other medical office buildings, including a facility at 1820 Zumbehl Road in St. Charles, an office in Wentzville and a 26,000-square-foot facility off Ohlms Road near St. Charles Community College in Cottleville.
The Zumbehl facility is expected to open later this month, Kalicak said. The Cottleville facility, expected to open in 2014, will house pediatrician offices and provide child development services, including speech and occupational therapy.
Kalicak said the expansion projects are intended to serve the medical needs of patients more conveniently. "The biggest thing is what people here need from us," he said. Mercy officials are working closely with an advisory group of local residents.
Two big factors in future expansions will be the economic recovery and continued population growth of the county, he said.
Mercy is competing with two other major health care providers in the county — SSM Health Care and BJC Healthcare.
In addition to St. Joseph Medical Park, SSM operates St. Joseph Health Center in St. Charles, St. Joseph Hospital West in Lake Saint Louis and St. Joseph Health Center-Wentzville, which has an emergency room and limited hospital services. BJC operates Barnes-Jewish St. Peters Hospital and Progress West HealthCare Center, a hospital in O'Fallon.
