A north St. Louis hospital temporarily furloughed most staff and closed its doors Tuesday, citing a blood shortage.
Homer G. Phillips Hospital, built by developer Paul McKee, also failed to pay dozens of health care workers last week, according to Alderman Rasheen Aldridge, who spoke with several affected workers.
In an email obtained by Aldridge, the hospital’s attorney said he is working with banks to raise funds for payroll.
“I have not been successful thus far, but I am optimistic that we will achieve a resolution in the near future,” attorney Mark Vincent wrote.
In another memo signed by the hospital’s board of directors on Dec. 17, the board wrote that during the temporary closure, it will “collaborate with its lending partners to secure additional funding aimed at expanding operations and meeting financial obligations."
The three-bed hospital, which opened last January, is also looking for new blood sources.
A Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services spokesperson confirmed that the hospital was given a temporary license suspension because it did not have a reliable blood supply.
“Our goal is to get the hospital up and running as soon as the health and safety minimums have been met,” spokesperson Sami Jo Freeman said.
Aldridge, who represents much of north city, said it’s “shameful” that workers have not been paid, especially as the holidays near. But he said he is not surprised the hospital is not functioning properly.
The hospital is another example of a “project that Paul McKee touches [that] just doesn't seem to be able to succeed,” Aldridge said. “And this is why people in my community have been saying for the longest we want this man out of our neighborhood.”
McKee has been widely criticized for buying hundreds of parcels in north city and allowing them to fall into disrepair. Earlier this year, the city passed a measure making it easier to use eminent domain to acquire such properties. Backers frequently cited McKee as a reason for the new law.
For years, St. Louis nurses, activists and religious leaders took up issues with the developer. They also fought to prevent McKee from naming the hospital after renowned attorney and civil rights advocate Homer G. Phillips.
In August, Homer G. Phillips Nurses Alumni Inc. lost a lawsuit arguing McKee did not have the right to use Phillips’ name.
In a statement, the alumni group said it never opposed opening the hospital and is dismayed that employees have been furloughed.
Bad publicity from situations like the hospital’s financial woes and blood shortage “tarnishes the legacy” of Phillips, the group wrote.
In response to the closure, the mayor’s office, Department of Health and the St. Louis Agency on Training and Employment said they will help connect furloughed workers with job opportunities and training programs.
“My thoughts are with the workers who were unjustifiably impacted by this sudden closure,” Mayor Tishaura Jones wrote in a statement on Dec. 18. “The closure of this hospital right before the holidays represents another failure from Bob Clark and Paul McKee, two developers whose reckless disregard for our city continues to impede needed progress on the North side.”
Workers affected by the closure can visit SLATE’s website at www.stlouis-mo.gov/slate/ or call 314-589-8000.
The hospital did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
