Homer G. Phillips Memorial Hospital is permanently closed, after it surrendered its license to Missouri health officials on Monday for not submitting a thorough correction plan for hospital deficiencies.
Hospital operators were asked to provide a detailed plan of correction to the state Department of Health and Senior Services by Monday, after its license was suspended last December for insufficient blood supply. The license of the three-bed hospital in north St. Louis was set to expire at the end of the year.
The facility’s operators asked DHSS in December for more time to work through its deficiencies. State officials agreed and extended its license suspension. The suspension expired Monday.
According to a state spokesperson, the operators submitted a plan of corrections in February, but it wasn’t accepted because it lacked details. Also, about 80 employees were laid off via email that same month.
Some employees sued the hospital and developer Paul McKee for back payment and pain and suffering. The hospital’s legal woes continue as a Nebraska-based medical staffing company also sued for $60,000 for unpaid services.
Over the last year, Alderman Rasheen Aldridge, whose ward includes most of north St. Louis, has spoken with many former workers at the hospital and nurses from Homer G. Phillips Nurses' Alumni Association. He said the hospital’s closure is bittersweet for north St. Louis.
“For months, community members, the Homer G. Phillips Nurses Association and I have been advocating for a change to the hospital’s name. However, we never suggested that we didn’t want a health care facility in this health care desert,” he said. “Hopefully, this closure will pave the way for the removal of the Homer G. (Phillips) name from this clinic.”
If Homer G. Phillips administrators want to start treating patients within one year of closure, they would have to obtain a relicensure letter from the state that is licensed under the same conditions as the hospital was operating before. Beyond one year, administrators would also be required to go through the state’s entire Certificate of Need process to reopen the hospital.
