Developer Paul McKee has officially submitted his application to state health regulators seeking approval for a three-bed, $6.8 million urgent care hospital on the city’s north side.
St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay and Department of Health Director Pamela Walker along with a handful of other public officials and residents offered written support for the project, according to the application submitted Friday to the Missouri Health Facilities Review Committee.
In Missouri, hospitals must go through the certificate of need process to obtain approval before building. Applicants must show there’s an actual need for the hospital, and the Health Facilities Review Committee votes on the request.
McKee’s application uses a study from the city’s department of health to show the overall poor health status of residents of north St. Louis to illustrate the need for the hospital, according to the application. If approved, this will be the city’s only hospital north of Lindell Boulevard.
People are also reading…
Substantial health disparities, particularly among African-Americans, persist in north St. Louis, Walker said in a letter contained within McKee’s application. The highest mortality rates, including those of infants, are within north St. Louis ZIP codes, Walker wrote. And the lowest life expectancy is in north St. Louis, she wrote.
“An estimated 40 percent of residents living on the north side of St. Louis do not have their own means of transportation, resulting in a high demand for city ambulance services to primarily Christian North East or BJC emergency departments,†Walker wrote.
In a letter to convey his “unqualified support,†Slay said the project “would not simply promote public health in a part of the city where there is great need, it would represent a significant advance in broader interests of social justice.â€
The application is in line with McKee’s previously announced plan for the hospital located at the intersection of 25th and North Market streets, within McKee’s NorthSide Regeneration project area. But it’s still unclear who will operate clinical services for the hospital.
The three-bed hospital will not house any operating rooms, oncology services, invasive procedure rooms or obstetric services, according to the application. Transfer agreements will be in place with other hospitals and trauma centers to treat patients who need more than urgent care services, according to the application.
McKee estimates the hospital will experience 7,800 patient visits in its first year of operation followed by about 8,580 its second year.
The owner of the project is listed as Northside Urgent Care Property LLC, based in O’Fallon, Mo. The operator is listed as Northside Urgent Care Hospital Inc. with the same O’Fallon address, according to the application. The two have “common†ownership, according to the application.