“A Hospital for Decades to Come”: Taylorville Memorial Hospital completes construction
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“Taylorville Memorial Hospital has served our family, friends and neigh- bors in Christian County for more than 100 years,” said Kim Bourne, president and CEO of Taylorville Memorial Hospital. “We believe in providing innova- tive and patient-centered health care, and this mod- ernization project demon- strates our continued com- mitment to provide the peo- ple we serve with a state-of- the-art hospital for decades to come.”
Construction crews broke ground in June 2018 on a two-story, approximately 97,000-square-foot building that would replace most of the former hospital, a five- story structure built in 1954, on the current hospital campus at 201 E. Pleasant St.
The modernization project was completed in two phas- es to ensure continuity of patient services during construction and to have mini- mal impact on newer portions of the hospital that were updated in 2011, Bourne said.
The first phase, completed in March 2020, included opening of 25 private patient rooms, outpatient services, therapy services, laboratory, pharmacy, specialty clinic and a central utility plant. The second phase, completed this month, involved the demolition of the five-story section of the former hospital, and expansion of the first floor of the new addition to accommodate a hospital kitchen, cafeteria and din- ing area, as well as admin- istrative offices.
“This project reflects our desire to reinvest in our community with a brand new facility meant for the 21st century. We may have finished construction, but our investment in the people of Christian County and its nearby communities continues with our updated focus on quality, safety and convenience for everyone we serve,” Bourne said.
“We hope this transformation will instill confidence in our community that Taylorville Memorial Hospital is well-equipped to serve their health care needs.”
Two especially beloved elements of the original hospital were restored and reinstalled in the new space, Bourne said. A Sacred Heart of Jesus statue, donated to St. Vincent Memorial Hospital (later renamed Taylorville
Memorial Hospital) by employees in 1958, is installed in the hospital’s courtyard. Stained-glass windows originally used in the chapel of the former hospital were restored by preservationists with Emil Frei & Associates in St. Louis and have a new home near the cafeteria dining area.
These items “hold a special place in the history of our hospital,” said Bourne.
Taylorville Memorial Hospital, previously known as St. Vincent Memorial Hospital, affiliated with Memorial Health System in 1995 and operated in co- sponsorship with the Adorers of the Blood of Christ until 2007 when the Sisters transferred sole sponsorship to MemorialHealth System.
The hospital was renamed Taylorville Memorial Hospital at that time. Taylorville Memorial Hospital is one of five hos- pitals in the Springfield- based health system.
The general contractor was O’Shea Builders in Springfield, and the architect was BSA Life Structures in St. Louis.
