Brian George: Every effort is being made to avoid the hospital's closure.
Mount Vernon braces for loss of largest employer
Brian Brown
Posted online
The hospital on the hill is slated to close its doors for good after a 107-year run.
Mount Vernon’s largest employer – and an iconic structure towering over much of the community 25 miles west of Springfield – is now situated squarely on the chopping block.
With a population approaching 4,600, the loss of 323 full- and part-time jobs would sting the Lawrence County town’s economy, said Mount Vernon Chamber of Commerce President Brian George.
On Aug. 11, the employees of Missouri Rehabilitation Center in Mount Vernon were notified the hospital, which houses a Veterans Affairs clinic, would close effective Oct. 31.
“A lot of folks are devastated. We’re going to do whatever we can to help those folks stay in the area,” George said. “We’re going to chase down every resource we can think of.”
Administrators at University of Missouri Health Care, which owns the rehab center, said the closure was due to several factors including unfilled rooms, a need for facility upgrades and uncertain financial support from the state.
MU Health Care spokeswoman Mary Jenkins said state funding cuts triggered an examination of the hospital’s long-term future, and administrators projected a nearly $1 million loss each month beginning in fiscal 2015.
This year, the governor cut MRC’s $10.4 million appropriation to $5.2 million ahead of September’s veto session.
“That $10 million annual appropriation funds one-third of MRC’s operating budget,” Jenkins said.
Declining patient loads are among the hospital’s key problems, most evident in a daily census average nearly one-fifth of capacity.
According to a news release, the daily inpatient census continued an annual slide in fiscal 2014 to average 28.7 patients against capacity for 130 inpatients. Five years ago, the daily inpatient census averaged 41.9.
VA in Springfield MU Health Care managers were in meetings last week with Veterans Affairs officials to discuss the needs of the Gene Taylor VA Outpatient Clinic, which leases 35,000 square feet of space from MRC to operate a primary care, community-based clinic. The VA’s lease with MU Health Care runs through Oct. 31.
While the closure would have an undetermined impact on the VA clinic at MRC, a statement from the Veterans Health Care System of the Ozarks indicates no VA employees would be released.
“We are working diligently with the Missouri Rehabilitation Center and our VA partners to determine how this may affect the location of our clinic. VHSO will do everything possible to continue care without disruption and will notify veterans if they are affected by the Missouri Rehabilitation Center closure,” the statement said.
Fayetteville, Ark.-based VHSO manages VA clinics in parts of Arkansas, Oklahoma and Missouri, including Branson. While VA administrators have discussed developing a clinic in Springfield since at least 2013, spokeswoman Wanda Shull said those plans would not be impacted by the potential closure in Mount Vernon.
Shull said plans in Springfield have been slowed by delays with all leases nationally, and the VA is working now to select a developer and land in Springfield among three possible sites.
In March, Springfield City Council approved a zoning change on 20 acres south of Kansas Expressway and Republic Road, a move that puts the property in the mix for construction of a 92,000-square-foot veterans clinic.
Springfield architect Geoffrey Butler, who represented the landowner in the rezoning case, has said that property is the most likely to be selected for the future VA clinic. Vacant land east of Kickapoo High School, as well as property south of the Library Center on South Campbell Avenue, also are possibilities for the VA, according to Springfield Business Journal reporting.
Shull said the VA now has targeted September 2017 for completion of the clinic, which typically takes two years for design and construction.
“[The] Springfield clinic will move forward in the construction period as normal, and we will continue to operate the Gene Taylor Outpatient Clinic in Mount Vernon out of MRC if at all possible, or an alternative location, if required,” Shull said via email.
Holding hope George said the chamber remains hopeful a closure could be avoided.
“The chamber is working with our local representatives, as well as the city of Mount Vernon, to find ways to keep it open, if at all possible, or help those employees transition to employment that is still in Mount Vernon,” George said.
“The MRC is an integral part of the Mount Vernon area. It’s been around for over 100 years. It’s woven into our very fabric.”
Founded by the state in 1907 as a tuberculosis hospital, MRC expanded its mission in 1971 to include all types of cardiac and pulmonary diseases. The name was changed to Missouri State Chest Hospital.
In 1985, the Missouri General Assembly again changed MRC’s name and mission to meet the needs of patients seriously impaired through accident or injury and who had the capacity for improvement through extensive rehabilitation. General physical rehabilitation programs began in late 1985, and the hospital opened its traumatic brain injury program in January 1986.
In 1996, ownership of MRC was transferred to University of Missouri Health Care by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.
During the past decade, the number of long-term acute care patients at MRC has steadily declined, largely from growing private care competition, Jenkins said.
MU Health Care CEO and Chief Operating Officer Mitch Wasden said in a statement continuity of patient care and supporting employees would be top priority the next three months.
“We will work closely with other long-term acute care centers and rehabilitation centers around the state to ensure all MRC patients receive the care they need,” he said in a news release. “For MRC employees, we will be providing transition pay and benefits as well as transition assistance, including priority consideration for other jobs within MU Health Care.”
George said in the face of a looming closure, residents are steeling themselves to come together as one.
“It’s up to us as a community to help our citizens and the employees make it through this,” George said, noting the economic concerns at play. “We’d lose all the foot traffic from employees. It will have a negative impact on our gas stations, our restaurants and grocery stores. This reaches into every single aspect of Mount Vernon.
A safe room and classroom addition at Willard Central Elementary School will be used by the music, arts and athletic programs for a district that had 4,536 students last year, according to Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education figures, but school officials say enrollment is projected to grow.
