A trio of major announcements made at the close of 2015 could dramatically impact the face of healthcare in the Mid-South. The disclosures included the news that Crittenden County, Arkansas, will have a new hospital, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital will launch an enormous $1-billion expansion and Methodist Healthcare plans to make a $275-million investment in its campus master plan.
The announcements come on the heels of a report in the November issue of the Memphis Medical News of no less than six other large-scale healthcare projects expected to open this year.
The new hospital in Crittenden will replace one that closed in West Memphis in 2014. According to the plan, Memphis’ Baptist Memorial Health Care will operate the facility. A proposal to reopen Crittenden Regional Hospital was announced by Nashville-based Ameris Acquisitions, LLC, last summer, but never moved forward. Crittenden was the county’s only hospital.
Hopes for a new hospital depends on voters in Crittenden County to approve using proceeds collected from a sales tax previously approved to finance construction of the hospital. Jason Little, chief executive officer at Baptist, indicated it would take about 18 months to build the hospital if voters in March approve the plan.
The massive expansion of St. Jude will come over a six year period, according to Dr. James R. Downing, the hospital’s chief executive officer. It will require more than $1 billion in construction on its campus in Downtown Memphis and add 2,000 employees to its workforce, increasing the total number to 7,400.
The expanded campus will allow St. Jude to increase the number of new pediatric cancer patients treated by almost 20 percent, from about 500 to 600 and double the number of patients enrolled in St. Jude clinical trials testing treatments world-wide.
"By increasing the number of patients that are enrolled in those clinical trials, we can complete them in shorter periods of time, accelerate progress and then design the next trial to accelerate progress," Downing said.
The Methodist Healthcare Board of Directors last month approved a plan to file a certificate of need (CON) for a master campus plan for Methodist University Hospital, the healthcare system’s flagship hospital and the region’s academic medical center. The plan, set for CON filing in February, will modernize the hospital, enhance the patient-and-family centered care experience and relocate services to improve patient flow.
The Expansion includes a 440,000-square-foot addition which will create space to upgrade services within the hospital, as well as provide new medical technology. The upgrade of services includes oncology, transplant and outpatient programs into a new centralized area and will increase efficiency for medical staff, patients and visitors.
The project includes the addition of a 700-space parking garage, which will increase campus parking by more than 100 spaces. Because this structure does not require state approval, it is set to break ground next month.
If the CON is approved by the State Health Services and Development Agency, construction for the entire campus plan could begin in fall 2016 and is expected to take more than three years to complete.