SoutheastHEALTH Center in Dexter set to expand

DEXTER, Mo. -- SoutheastHEALTH Center of Stoddard County in Dexter is expanding its facility.

The Dexter board of aldermen and the Stoddard County Commission announced at recent meetings the hospital plans to sell $20 million in bonds for the expansion.

"We're planning to borrow $20 million through the Stoddard County Industrial Development Authority, backed by a revenue pledge through SoutheastHEALTH," chief financial officer and hospital vice president Hugh King said. "The bonds will not create a general obligation for taxpayers."

Adam Bracks, CEO of the facility, detailed the plan for the funds, all of which will be borrowed from Regions Bank.

The first $10 million will be used to acquire the long-term lease of the hospital and grounds from Sunlink Health Systems.

Phase one involves the building of a new medical office building on the west side of the grounds in front of the hospital. The building will be home to eight physicians and 22 treatment rooms. That phase is expected to cost about $3 million. Bracks said Wednesday that construction is expected to begin this week.

The second phase of the project will include a $2.6 million renovation of the hospital. The emergency room will be moved to the northwest corner of the hospital to increase access.

"The new emergency room will be visible from both the highway and from One Mile Road," Bracks said.

The plan also calls for increasing the emergency room's size and number of treatment rooms, but no specific number has been determined.

Additional money is being used for the purchase of more modern equipment for the hospital. A laboratory analyzer recently was purchased for $275,000 that is believed to have dramatically increased the turnaround time on lab results within the hospital.

Equipment, renovations

Bracks said the hospital also plans to buy a 64-slice CT scanner to replace the hospital's six-slice model. "That will also be a major upgrade for the quality of diagnostic care patients receive here," he said.

Remaining money will be used for hospital renovations. Bracks said they hope to modernize patient rooms and other areas.

He said it has not been determined will be done with the portion of the hospital that houses the emergency room.

Bracks said that under the plan, no governmental entity or taxpayer is being obligated in any way. The revenue of the hospital will serve as the bonds' collateral.

"The way enabling legislation has been set up, a not-for-profit organization is unable to set up bonds on their own," Bracks said. "Industrial development authorities around the state were set up with that in mind to allow not-for-profits a way to purchase bonds."

Stoddard County Industrial Development Authority director Julian Steiner said he is excited about the project and what it means for Stoddard County.

"The IDA was designed for projects just like this one with SoutheastHEALTH," Steiner said. "Our job is to be a conduit for bond issues like these."

A public hearing has been scheduled for 3 p.m. Sept. 20 at the IDA office in Bloomfield, Mo.

Dexter Mayor Joe Weber has signed a resolution pledging the city's support for the plan.

The Stoddard County Commission will revisit the issue Monday during its regular meeting. Executives from SoutheastHEALTH are expected to be on hand to answer questions and explain the process.

SoutheastHEALTH also plans to seek $40 million in bonds to pay for expansion and remodeling at its main campus in Cape Girardeau.

The addition of a 26-bed outpatient observation unit and an inpatient pediatric emergency room and observation unit is expected to be completed during the next year with a remodel of the hospital's neonatal intensive care unit and ambulatory surgery area also planned to be finished in the fall of 2014.

The Cape Girardeau City Council on Monday passed a resolution in support of the project. The hospital and the Industrial Development Authority of Cape Girardeau County will hold a public hearing Sept. 20 at the Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce, and must obtain the support of the Cape Girardeau County commission.

Pertinent address:

1200 N. One Mile Road, Dexter, Mo.