PHC constructing medical office building

Parkland Health Center has announced plans to construct a more than 30,000-square-foot Medical Office Building on land adjacent to the hospital where the Harrington Farm once stood. Photos of the old barn, seen above prior to its disassembly, will be framed and displayed inside the new building. A groundbreaking ceremony will be held on the site at 4 p.m. Monday. (Dr. Ryan Johnstone)

Groundbreaking ceremony planned for 4 p.m. Monday

Parkland Health Center (PHC) in Farmington has announced plans to construct a more than 30,000-square-foot Medical Office Building to house the hospital’s primary care services. Parkland Health Center will host a groundbreaking ceremony at 4 p.m. Monday to celebrate the upcoming start of construction.

According to PHC, the new Medical Office Building will occupy one portion of the recently acquired seven-acre property adjacent to the hospital. Construction of the new building is scheduled to begin Wednesday, with the completion date targeted for November 2024.

According to the St. Louis Business Journal, BJC officials said the site was acquired in November 2021 from Scott Schrum. Kirkwood-based Archimages Inc. is the architecture firm chosen to provide plans for the new building, and Clayton-based Impact Strategies will be the project’s general contractor. A purchase price for the property was not disclosed.

“We’re excited to continue investing in our community with the construction of this new medical office building,” said Annette Schnabel, Parkland Health Center president. “This is just one more way BJC HealthCare and Parkland Health Center are increasing patient access to primary care services while providing world-class medicine closer to home. We’re incredibly grateful to the hospital’s planning committee for their hard work and dedication in helping bring this project forward.”

Located on Hazel Lane on the northeast corner of the property, this $23.1 million facility will house Parkland Health Center’s primary care services — including family medicine and internal medicine providers — as well as laboratory, imaging, and retail pharmacy services. Upon completion, it will accommodate up to 23 primary care providers. There will also be a convenient drive-through option for retail pharmacy services.

“By expanding our campus and adding this new building, we’ll be able to complete renovations on our existing office building and create additional space,” Schnabel said. “Our existing building will house the hospital’s obstetrics, pediatricians, surgeons, and other specialists and allow us to expand oncology services and recruit additional providers.”

The rest of the seven-acre property will remain green space for now, including preserving the existing creek line. PHC also plans to add a walking path along the creek line to offer visitors a few peaceful moments in a park-like atmosphere. Also, future expansion is an option on portions of the property.

The site of the walking path development is familiar to many local Farmington residents. Known as the Harrington Farm, it housed a large dairy barn with significant historical value dating back to the early 1800s. Photos of the barn — which previously stood on the property and will be reassembled on a local private property — will be framed and displayed inside the new building to pay homage to the legacy of the Harrington Farm.

In addition to Parkland Health Center’s acute-care hospital in Farmington, it has a three-bed critical access hospital at 7245 Raider Road in Bonne Terre, also in St. Francois County.

Parkland Health Center was formed in 1992 through the merger of Farmland Community Medical Center and Bonne Terre Hospital, which was then an affiliate of Christian Health System. Parkland became part of BJC HealthCare when it was formed through the 1993 merger of Christian Health System and Barnes-Jewish Hospital. BJC acquired Mineral Area Regional Medical Center in Farmington in 2015, later merging its operations into Parkland.

St. Louis-based BJC HealthCare, one of the nation’s largest nonprofit health care systems, includes 14 hospitals and multiple health service organizations serving primarily the greater St. Louis, southern Illinois and southeast Missouri regions. The health system had 2022 revenue of more than $6 billion, with nearly 32,000 employees, including nearly 31,000 in the St. Louis area.

BJC announced in May that it plans to merge with the Kansas City region’s largest health care system, Saint Luke’s Health System, in what the health systems estimate would be a $10 billion merger. The deal is expected to close by the end of this year, subject to regulatory review and customary approvals.