For Immediate Release: June 1, 2010

Contact: Brian Reardon (217) 544-6464, ext. 44306 brian.reardon@st-johns.org

ST. JOHN’S HEALTH CENTER - SOUTH 6TH STREET TO OPEN IN EARLY 2011

SPRINGFIELD – Health care consumers will have another option for convenient access to quality health care services when St. John’s Health Center – South 6th Street opens in early 2011. The 28,000 square foot facility will be the new home for St. John’s Sleep Center and St. John’s Center for Interventional Pain Management. The health center will also include space for cardiology clinics from Prairie Cardiovascular providers, HSHS Medical Group primary care physician and walk-in clinics, basic and advanced imaging, and lab services.

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“St. John’s Health Center – South 6th Street is yet another example of how we are implementing our Care Integration strategy,” said Bob Ritz, President and CEO, St. John’s Hospital. “We are bringing together physicians and health care services that traditionally were located at the hospital and placing them in a facility that is adjacent to the junction of Sangamon County’s two major interstates. With the South 6th Street corridor continuing to grow, we believe this new health center is ideally situated to meet the growing demand for convenient and accessible health care.”

St. John’s Sleep Center will include nine sleeping rooms where infants, children and adult patients with sleep disorders can undergo overnight tests. Dr. Jerry Reedy, Central Illinois Allergy & Respiratory Service, Ltd, serves as Medical Director of the Sleep Center. Dr. Reedy and seven other physicians, all board certified in sleep medicine, are part of a multi-disciplinary clinical team that treats patients for such conditions as obstructive sleep apnea, nocturnal seizures and narcolepsy.

“The new Sleep Center at St. John’s Health Center will offer patients a convenient location and comfortable setting to undergo a sleep study,” said Dr. Reedy. “The environment for patients will be similar to an overnight stay at a hotel.”

St. John’s Center for Interventional Pain Management will consist of four exam rooms and two procedure rooms. The Center is staffed by a panel of five physicians, who in cooperation with a patient’s primary care physician, will provide a full range of minimally invasive techniques to relieve or reduce pain and improve a patient’s overall quality of life.  Examples of pain management techniques include injection of an anesthetic medicine or steroid around nerves, tendons, joints or muscles; nerve blocks; spinal cord stimulation; and radiofrequency ablation. Some of the most common pain disorders treated include back pain, cancer pain, diabetic neuropathy, musculoskeletal pain, migraines/headaches, post-op pain, sciatica, shingles and sports injuries.

Physicians from HSHS Medical Group and Priority Care will see both walk-in patients and those with appointments in clinic space that includes 12 exam rooms. Physicians from Prairie Cardiovascular will hold separate clinics in space with six exam rooms and an area for stress tests. Adjacent to the clinics will be imaging services that include a CT scan, MRI, digital mammography, dexa scans (bone density), ultrasound and x-ray.  Laboratory services will also be located onsite.

A Starbucks coffee shop will also be available for patients, family members, and employees.

“This state-of-the-art health center will allow our physicians to see their patients in a comfortable environment with access to the latest medical technology,” said Dr. Richard Rolston, President and CEO, HSHS Medical Group. “We’re excited about the opportunity to offer greater access to health care services in this community.”

Construction of the facility is expected to cost $6.9 million and be completed by February, 2011.