ST. LOUIS — Roughly 50 residents turned out for a public meeting Wednesday at City Hall to express outrage over the name of a new Homer G. Phillips hospital, which they argue usurps and minimizes the legacy of the original hospital of the same name.
NorthSide Regeneration developer Paul McKee, who was invited to the meeting, did not attend, nor did any representatives of the new hospital or its developers.
Construction on the new medical facility, which will have three in-patient beds, finished last month at the corner of Jefferson Avenue and Thomas Street on the edge of the Carr Square neighborhood. The hospital, slated to open in spring, carries the name Homer G. Phillips Memorial Hospital. The name echoes that of the original five-story, 600-bed Homer G. Phillips Hospital situated in the Ville neighborhood, at 2601 Whittier Street, which was shuttered in 1979.
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The new hospital’s board of directors say the name was chosen to “honor the legacy and memory†of Homer G. Phillips. But some people see the name as an affront to the original, which is a recognized historic landmark. Homer G. Phillips Hospital was opened in 1937, and offered training to Black doctors and nurses. For a time, it was the only public hospital in the city that offered medical care to Black residents.
“I was born at Homer G. Hospital,†longtime resident Julia Allen said before the meeting. “The real issue is about the preservation of Black culture in St. Louis. The Black community has been decimated because of policy, neglect, local government, private development and their lawyers.â€
The meeting was planned with help from the Homer G. Phillips Nurses Association, and several who had worked in the old hospital were in attendance.
McKee’s “attitude is reflective of folks who have a lot of money and don’t give a damn about poor people,†said Zaki Baruti, president of the Universal African People’s Organization. “It’s a damn shame. It’s an outrage we even have to be here.â€
Mayor Tishaura O. Jones made an appearance at the meeting to show her support for renaming the new facility, as did state Rep. Kimberly-Ann Collins, 77th District.
“It’s important to protect our history and our heritage by any means necessary,†Jones said. “These meetings are necessary when people try to bastardize the names of our civil rights heroes.â€
A statement released on Wednesday by the board of the Homer G. Phillips Memorial Hospital said that developers had consulted with “many†community members about the facility’s name.
“Some disagree with our decision to name the hospital in Mr. Phillips’ honor,†the statement reads. “While we respect the right of those who disagree with our efforts to bring a lifesaving facility to a healthcare desert, we have no intentions to re-examine the naming of this hospital … Homer G. Phillips Memorial Hospital has a daunting mission to live up to its name. We intend to be worthy of the challenge.â€
The new hospital was proposed a decade ago, but McKee’s development plan hit roadblocks when city officials took issue with it. McKee has said he intends to eventually expand the hospital. It will open with three in-patient and 16 emergency room beds and will offer dialysis care, MRI and CT diagnostic equipment, and will be able to treat traumatic injuries.
“We did not approve of our history being stolen and placed in another ward,†4th Ward Alderman Dwinderlin Evans said at the meeting. “Who did they talk to? No one. … They’re stealing heritage from our community.â€
Editor's note: Information on the history of the original Homer G. Phillips Hospital has been corrected.