St. Elizabeth’s O’Fallon expansion to bring operating rooms closer to home

Construction is expected to begin this summer on a major expansion of St. Elizabeth’s Hospital’s O’Fallon medical campus.

Estimated to be a $50 million project, plans include an ambulatory surgical treatment center, a medical office building, and additions and renovations to the existing hospital to meet increased patient demands.

The Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board has approved the hospital’s expansion request. St. Elizabeth’s said its plan cost-effectively addressed unmet community needs.

A groundbreaking date has not been set yet, according to a hospital spokesperson.

A new 70,000-square-foot medical office building will have three floors. It will include the 20,000-square-foot ambulatory surgical treatment center, with four operating rooms and two procedure rooms.

It will be located adjacent to Green Mount Road, directly north of the main entrance and roundabout.

St. Elizabeth’s Hospital President Christopher Klay told an aldermanic committee of the O’Fallon City Council last year that improved operating room access was needed and that a current office capacity was 100% occupied.

“Many providers – spanning general surgery, urology, neurosurgery, otolaryngology, gynecology, gastrointestinal and orthopedic specialties – have asked St. Elizabeth’s for improved operating room access to time-efficiently meet the needs of their patients more cost-effectively on an outpatient basis,” he said.

Large neurosurgery, urology, podiatry, and pediatric physician groups were asking for new or additional space on St. Elizabeth’s campus, including Cardinal Glennon and Urology and Neurology of St. Louis, Klay said.

“Today, 40% of patients within our service area travel to St. Louis for healthcare services. A majority say they would elect to receive their healthcare in Illinois if access to specialized care was improved,” Klay said.

Other Expansion Work

Renovations to the existing hospital also include an 8,500-square-foot dietary department, a 15,500-square-foot emergency department addition and renovation of the existing dietary department to become 32 inpatient hospital rooms. There also will be renovations to existing portions of the emergency department and relocation and renovation of the admissions department.

At Monday’s council meeting, aldermen approved an alternative parking plan for 1,580 parking spaces with the existing condition that a additional parking could be created at the city’s request.

Based on the city’s parking calculations for new tenants, the site is required to have 2,003 parking spaces, which is based on the minimum parking requirement, by use, of two spaces per patient bed and one space per employee for the hospital, and 4.5 spaces per 1,000 gross floor area for the acute surgery treatment center and medical office buildings.