SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital – Jefferson City opened Nov. 16, replacing a 100-year-old hospital in Jefferson City, Mo.
A crew transports a patient to the new SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital – Jefferson City during a Nov. 16 hospital move.
The $200 million, 167-bed facility has almost all private patient rooms, including in the emergency department. There are some semiprivate rooms in the inpatient behavioral health department. Intensive care, labor and delivery, orthopedics, pediatrics, surgical services, a cancer center, cardiovascular services and spine care are included in its service offerings. A health plaza that opened Nov. 17 on the campus houses primary care and specialty care services.
The hospital design incorporates natural lighting and nature views, noise reduction features and other elements that researchers from the Pebble Project, a health design collaborative, have linked to reduction in patient stress, lower infection risk, a lessening of pain, and to improved sleep.
SSM Health St. Mary's marketing and communications consultant Becki Collier said the building is energy efficient, and departments are in logical proximity to improve patient care.
SSM and the Sansone real estate company are seeking potential buyers for the legacy campus, which is about 5 miles from the new campus.
The new hospital opens as its St. Louis-based parent company is in the process of rebranding itself and all its facilities as SSM Health from SSM Health Care. SSM Health operates in Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin and Oklahoma. The new name is intended to reflect a commitment to managing health and wellness. William P. Thompson, SSM Health's president and chief executive, said in a press statement, "As we continue to create a consistent consumer experience across our system, the name SSM Health will only grow in meaning. It will express our promise to patients, customers and to each other about who we are and what we stand for."
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