SoutheastHEALTH tackles projects in Cape Girardeau, Dexter

This story has been changed from its original posting to add Dr. Shoemaker's title and first name and to correct the spelling of Sally Owen's name.

During the past year, SoutheastHEALTH has expanded in several different areas, with more plans to come.

The hospital opened an extended-stay outpatient recovery unit June 30, and on July 7, babies began being admitted to the new neonatal intensive care unit in Cape Girardeau.

Construction of the hospital's new entrance sign on Broadway recently was completed. A medical office building is scheduled to open in Dexter, Missouri, in early September.

A future project is an emergency department pediatric observation unit in Cape Girardeau, which is to be built adjacent to the emergency room.

The unit is still in the early planning stages, but will be close to the current emergency room.

"From a medical standpoint, we felt like it made sense to do this because the pediatric patients will come and be seen by a pediatrician, and some of those patients will go home," Dr. Matthew Shoemaker said. "The ones that require admission will then be admitted right there in the same area and then the doctors will be right in the same area."

Shoemaker confirmed that the opening date for the pediatric unit will be in fall 2015. The project is being financed by a bond, but Shoemaker was not confident about how large it is or what else it will be used for. Public relations manager Sally Owen was unable to provide clarification Monday.

One of SoutheastHEALTH's largest projects, the $3 million, 15,000-square-foot medical office building in Dexter, is 98 percent complete, regional operations officer Greg Carda said.

The building will have 27 exam rooms and one large procedure room. It is designed to accommodate seven health-care providers with the ability to expand to nine providers in the future, Carda said via email. The facility will have an in-house digital X-ray area and lab testing that will provide patients with a "one-stop shop."

Dr. Paul Caruso checks on Ameila Grace Williams, born July 5, who is scheduled to go home later this week. (GLENN LANDBERG)

The facility is being built with separate pediatric and adult waiting areas to limit germs among patients.

Carda said the waiting rooms can accommodate up to 100 patients and their families.

Southeast's final project, the NICU, had been in the works for more than a year and a half before its grand opening.

Neonatologist Dr. Paul Caruso said all of the staff were involved in some way in the planning process; they met with the architects early on to explain their wants and needs.

"[We wanted to express] how important it was that [we have] something that emphasized bringing the parents in and giving them private time with their baby in the NICU, but at the same time serving all of the medical needs that a neonatal intensive care unit has to do -- and that's why it took so long," Caruso said with a laugh.

The NICU originally had 880 square feet and is now 2,120 square feet, not including its wellness nursery, which brings the figure to 3,010 square feet.

The NICU contains eight beds, with the possibility of 15, and is separated into different bays to provide the most privacy possible.

"Generally, about one in eight to one in 10 babies get admitted into the intensive care unit here," Caruso said. "So it's a pretty sizable number. It's anywhere between 120 and 140 babies each year, so if we didn't have an intensive care unit for them, then those babies would have to be transferred up to St. Louis and those families would have to be up there. And given the fact that you know a baby may be in the NICU anywhere from two days to three months, it can be quite a burden to the family to live in St. Louis for that long of a time."

The facility's NICVIEW camera was donated by the SoutheastHEALTH Auxiliary, and allows families to view their newest members from anywhere in the world.

"The auxiliary kicked in and provided us the funds for the NICVIEW cameras, which is something we were very excited about," Caruso said. "They said they wanted to give us something special, … and I said something we'd love to have but it isn't a necessity, but it's great to have is this NICVIEW camera and system. And what it allows is for the family to log on through a smartphone, a computer or tablet and really allow them to see their baby 24 hours a day. It's great for a parent that has to work and can't be here in Cape Girardeau in the NICU; it's great for grandparents and family members that are homebound."

smaue@semissourian.com

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Pertinent address:

1701 Lacey St., Cape Girardeau, MO

1200 N. One Mile Road, Dexter, MO 63841