SAMH Gets Okay for New Ambulatory Care Center

The Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board gave Certificate of Need approval to HSHS St. Anthony’s Memorial Hospital’s proposal to build a new Ambulatory Care Center on Tuesday, opening the door for the hospital to launch their newest facility, which will provide enhanced outpatient services to area residents.

St. Anthony’s Ambulatory Care Center (ACC) will be combined with a medical office building and located on Temple Avenue in Effingham, adjacent to the hospital’s campus. The purpose of the ACC is to provide patients with an ideal ambulatory (or outpatient) patient experience by moving outpatient services that are best delivered in an easily accessible setting off the main hospital campus. St. Anthony’s ACC will relocate some hospital outpatient services that are located within blocks of each other to one centralized location for added convenience for area residents. These services include:

• Laboratory Specimen Collection
• Convenient Care
• Diagnostic Imaging including  X-ray and CT
• Open MRI
• Women’s Wellness Center and Boutique
• Physician Office Space

The ACC will be connected to the current Effingham Medical Center office building on Temple Avenue to provide ease of access for physicians and patients alike. St. Anthony’s is currently working with the physicians located in the Effingham Medical Center to make plans for renovating that space to connect the look and feel of the two buildings when completed.

With the State’s approval, plans can now move forward with construction planned to begin this year, with anticipated completion date of June 2016. The total cost of the ACC and medical office building project is expected to be $14 million.

Theresa Rutherford, HSHS St. Anthony’s President and CEO, explained why the hospital wants to build the ACC. “Our focus is always on our community residents and making their health care experience more accessible and convenient. We are moving and modernizing health care.” she said. “Fewer patients are hospitalized; more and more are being seen in an office or clinic setting. Construction of the Ambulatory Care Center allows us to meet the needs of our patients and the community,” she said.