CAIRO, Ill. -- Construction of a 20,000-square-foot "mega-clinic" here is ahead of schedule.

"We're hoping to be in the new facility by July," said Fred Bernstein, director of Community Health Services, Inc. at Cairo. "That's about 30 days ahead of schedule."

The new medical clinic, which will include outpatient surgery, a dental clinic, and emergency room, is located on a five-acre plot near the Interstate 57/Route 3 intersection north of Cairo.

"When we started construction in June, we felt it would be 14 months before completion," said Bernstein Wednesday. "Now, it looks like the timetable will be narrowed by at least a month. We're excited and happy about the way things are going."

Bernstein said the clinic will "help us keep our present physicians, and will help in our recruiting other medical specialists."

A portion of the $1.5 million cost of the clinic is from a $500,000 grant to Community Services from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs (DECCA). Community Health also had $200,000 left over from an escrow account from an earlier state grant used for the project's design work.

Other financing was arranged to provide the balance, said Bernstein.

The new clinic will replace the current facility, which is located on the top four floors of the U.S. Post Office building in Cairo.

The city has been without emergency room facilities since 1988. Cairo's hospital, faced with financial difficulties, closed in 1986 and Community Health contracted with the state to keep the emergency room open. But, funds "dried up" and the emergency service as closed in August 1988.

Since then, residents of Alexander and Pulaski counties have had to go to hospitals in Cape Girardeau, Sikeston and Anna to receive emergency care.

Health Services, which started in 1974, was operated by the Cairo Hospital until it became a separate entity in 1980. The organization is not designed to handle emergencies now.

The new center will offer 24-hour emergency service when it opens, said Bernstein. "At first, the emergency room will be open only when the clinic is open."

Bernstein said clinic hours would be 8 a.m.-8 p.m., once the new facility opens. Current hours are 8 a.m.-5 p.m.