New SSM hospital in Fenton designed to bring nature indoors

By Kay Quinn, Healthbeat Reporter

KSDK -- On March 30 the first new full service hospital to be built in St. Louis County in 30 years will open its doors. NewsChannel 5 was given a sneak peek at the $236 million SSM St. Clare Health Center in Fenton.

From the volunteer patients acting sick in simulated nursing exercises, to construction crews in the lobby, SSM St. Clare Health Center in Fenton is counting down to opening day.

"We are on track, it is going to be a photo finish but we will be ready," says Sherry Housmann, President of SSM St. Clare Health Center.

On that day, the old SSM St. Joseph Hospital of Kirkwood will close and this 600,000 square foot facility will open. The hospital is located on 54 acres of what used to be Lakewood Golf Course at Bowles and 141.

Here's how the day, one year in the making, will play out.

"We set up incident command," says Housmann. "It will open at 2 a.m. in both locations and then at 3 a.m. the St. Clare emergency department will open. At 4 a.m. the St. Joseph emergency department will close and then we will start moving patients at 8 a.m."

Once inside, those patients will see surroundings that feel more a hotel than a hospital. It's one of the first health care facilities in the country to be built entirely around a concept based on bringing nature indoors called biophilic design.

"You will see floor to ceiling windows throughout," says Housmann, "You'll see materials that incorporate the colors of nature. You'll see artwork in the patient rooms."

According to medical research, patients have less stress and get better faster in a natural setting. But doctors say changes have been made to the medical model in an attempt to boost patient safety.

"Medications are all stored for the patient in the room including pain medication so that time to get pain medication is going to be shorter," says Dr. Tim Pratt, vice president of medical affairs at SSM St. Clare Health Center.

Medical records will be entirely computerized. Families are welcome 24 hours a day. And the hospital hopes to show that by making all of the 154 rooms private, hospital infection rates will be lower.

"People go well, it doesn't make any difference where you are, it's a state of mind," says Dr. Pratt. "Well I tell people, well if you're on the beach, it's certainly much more relaxing than being on 270 this afternoon. Again being in this room and then going back to St. Joes, love St. Joes, but there's a different feeling here."

Along with the main hospital, SSM St. Clare has two medical office buildings, one that houses a cancer center and the other an outpatient surgery center.

SSM St. Joseph's plans to stop performing elective surgery on March 26.

By moving day on March 30, about 40 to 50 patients will need to be transferred to St. Clare, a process that will take about five hours.

As soon as the last patient is gone, St. Joseph's will close its doors for good.