By TESA CULLI

tesa.culli@register-news.com

MT. VERNON — St. Mary’s Good Samaritan Hospital doctors, staff and administrators gathered Thursday afternoon to officially announce plans to build a new hospital on Veterans Memorial Drive.

“We have carefully planned this project for many years, and it’s been well worth it,” St. Mary’s Good Samaritan President Mike Warren told the gathered dignitaries and community members. “It will be state-of-the-art and also include unique features.”

The replacement hospital will be located directly adjacent to the new Exit 94 interchange for Interstates 57/64. It will also include a new surgical center, which will be a complement to the joint venture projects already on the new site, the Orthopedic Center of Southern Illinois and the Center for Comprehensive Cancer Care.

“The Surgical Center is following in our other successful partnerships,” Warren said. “We invited the surgeons to partner with us. ... In August, all shares were sold to the surgeons. That means they are co-owners with us, and are as invested in this community as we are for the long term.”

The project is designed by BSA LifeStructure, which is a nationally-recognized architectural firm which specializes exclusively in health care architecture, and which designed both the Orthopedic Center and the Center for Comprehensive Cancer Care. The construction will be a joint venture between McCarthy Building of St. Louis, Lipps Construction of Mt. Vernon and Shores Construction of Centralia. Construction is expected to begin in April.

“Ten years ago there was a joint operating agreement entered with St. Mary’s to create a regional health care opportunity,” St. Mary’s Good Samaritan Hospital Chief Executive Officer Phil Gustafson said. “That has grown to two hospitals and 15 out-patient sites. ... This project is part of our stimulus plan for the community. We will create about 275 full-time construction jobs, during the 30 months it will take to complete the job, then another 152 permanent jobs by the second year of operation. We hope this will be a catalyst for creating more health care opportunities in the community.”

The total investment in the project is $237 million, which includes the $185 million replacement hospital, $43 million medical office building and $9 million Surgery Center.

The new facility will double the size of the existing hospital campus located on North 12th Street, with 359,000 square feet. It will have 134 beds and consist of a garden level and five floors.

The plans to construct the new facility was announced in January 2007, and the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board approved all three certificates of need for a new hospital in January 2008.

According to information provided by the hospital, SMGS provided more than $35 million in charity care and uncompensated Medicaid and Medicare services last year.

“We are known for our culture of caring, and this is reflected in the overwhelming community support we have received for our new medical campus,” Gustafson stated. “Although we are embarking on a massive financial commitment, we have always been careful stewards of resources. We are proud to offer the most comprehensive services in the area, while keeping our hospital charges among the lowest in the region. In addition, we generously give back to our community through numerous outreach programs and substantial charity care.”

Dr. Daniel Hoffman, the administrative medical director, spoke on behalf of the doctors of the hospital.

“We are excited, I am excited,” Hoffman said. “I am excited because it will provide direct benefit to patients.”

Warren said once the replacement hospital in completed, funds have been budgeted to tear down the existing campus, including the Sister Joanne Building, and turn it into “green neighborhood lots.”