The final steel beam was placed atop the new $550 million SSM Health ºüÀêÊÓƵ University Hospital on Thursday morning. The milestone represents the next stage in construction for the hospital that will replace the current one along Grand Boulevard.
Thursday’s topping out ceremony was celebrated by both SSM Health and ºüÀêÊÓƵ University leaders and physicians, and represents SSM and ºüÀêÊÓƵ University’s long-term commitment to one another.
“The impact of this investment and our partnership cannot be overstated,†SLU President Fred Pestello said from a ninth-story balcony overlooking the construction project.
When SSM Health acquired the 365-bed hospital in 2015, the Creve Coeur-based Catholic health system promised to spend $500 million on building a new hospital and outpatient center.
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For staff and physicians, it was a welcome change.
Over the years, tension grew between then-owner Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare Corp. and the university, mainly over Tenet’s failure to establish a broader hospital network in the region to feed into the academic medical center.
SSM Health operates community-based hospitals throughout the region.
The current hospital last saw a major update nearly 30 years ago. Some parts of the original hospital still stand and date to 1933.
“Ultimately this new hospital and faculty represent an opportunity for SSM health and ºüÀêÊÓƵ University to better fulfill our mission,†the president of the SLUCare physician group, Dr. Robert Heaney, said Thursday morning.
“Collaboration between ºüÀêÊÓƵ University and SSM Health means a unified objective where our missions and value inform our approach to patient-centered care,†he continued.
The new hospital will span 10 floors and encompass 600,000 square feet. There will be fewer rooms: 316 inpatient beds, all in private rooms.
The 15-acre campus that sits along Grand Boulevard between Lasalle and Rutger streets also will be home to a new 200,000-square-foot outpatient center.
The facility is on schedule to open Sept. 1, 2020.