Menu
SEMO Health Network’s new location in New Madrid will provide many benefits
NEW MADRID, Mo. — A new building is the perfect prescription for better care for patients and for an improved working environment for employees at SEMO Health Network’s New Madrid location.
A groundbreaking was conducted Sept. 20 for the building to be located at 665 U.S. Highway 61.
Chris Jones, CEO of SEMO Health Network, said while the current New Madrid location has served the staff well over the years, it has become a struggle to continue to meet the medical needs of the approximately 350 to 400 patients served each month.
“The biggest benefit will be workflow. Right now they are sitting on top of each other. The new building is going to flow much much better,” Jones said. “The other is to offer the community a newer, better, more updated location where they can see their primary care physicians.”
The new 11,727 square-foot building will include 11 exam rooms, four offices where staff and patients can meet and five private offices for personnel. There will be a larger waiting room, a staff meeting/ break room and a central nurses’ station. The planned X-ray room will be designed so patients in wheelchairs or who require special accommodations can comfortably access it.
Also planned is improved lighting and security.
“It will just be an overall better experience for the patients,” Jones said. “We are making it large enough where we will be able to bring specialists in at some point. We are going to make those type of services more accessible for the patients as well.”
Jones added the 15 staff members at New Madrid are excited about the new building. They provided suggestions to architects Dille Pollard Architecture of Poplar Bluff and Cape Girardeau, who designed the building.
According to Annie Criddle, project manager with Dille Pollard Architecture, Kiefner Brothers Inc. will construct the single-story clinic. Currently they are formalizing contracts with subcontractors and procuring building materials.
“The current plan is to install concrete foundations and building slab, then pause while structural steel is fabricated and other materials are delivered,” she said.
The structural steel frame will be finished with stone veneer and architectural panels. Criddle estimated the entire construction process will take approximately 365 days.
Two grants are helping to cover the cost of construction.
Sarah Deane, chief financial officer for SEMO Health Network, explained the first grant awarded was part of the American Rescue Plan Act’s health center infrastructure support through the Health Resources and Services Administration. A second and larger grant was procured with the efforts of the Missouri Primary Care Association through the American Rescue Plan Act.
Jones said once the new building is completed, SEMO Health Network will sell the old clinic. Currently plans call for the continued operation of the gym facility, the business office and maintenance shed at their present locations.
“We are excited about the opportunity to continue to serve our patients at New Madrid with a state-of-the-art facility and equipment in a more convenient location,” Jones said. “We have been in New Madrid since 1980, and we look forward to many more years of serving New Madrid County with the best primary care possible.”