Mt. Vernon hospital held blessing, dedication ceremony Jan. 7 | Community Spirit

MOUNT VERNON, IL (KFVS) - A Blessing and Dedication ceremony was held to commemorate the new Good Samaritan Regional Health Center on January 7 at 11 a.m.

The event included a ribbon cutting ceremony, sealing of a time capsule and blessing of the new hospital and foundation stone.

The ceremony began with dedication comments from speakers including: Mike Warren, President Good Samaritan Regional Health Center; Sister Clarette Stryzewski, CSSF, President & CEO Felician Services;  William P. Thompson,  President & CEO SSM Health Care; Phil Gustafson, CEO St. Mary’s Good Samaritan & Vice President SSM Health Care; Anthony Vacca, D.O., Medical Staff President;  and Mayor Mary Jane Chesley, City of Mt. Vernon.

“We’ve incorporated some of the best practices and most innovative health care design concepts from across the country. Yet, we have also customized the design to be unique to our patients and our community based on input from employees, physicians, volunteers, and the residents of Southern Illinois,” said Mike Warren, President of Good Samaritan Regional Health Center. “Together, we have designed a state-of-the-art health center for the Region.”

A time capsule containing many artifacts from the Health Center construction and history, as well as items from community members, physicians, staff, and volunteers was closed during the ceremony. The time capsule will be sealed behind a 550-pound foundation stone inside the new hospital’s visitor entrance and will be reopened in 2063.

The hospital was then blessed by His Excellency The Most Reverend Edward K. Braxton, Ph.D., STD; Bishop of Belleville. The blessing was followed by the cutting of the ribbon, officially marking the beginning of a new era of health care for Good Samaritan and all of Southern Illinois.

After the event, a light lunch was provided, followed by tours of the new hospital. The tours offered visitors a look into the new facility, including areas normally off-limits to the public such as operating rooms and advanced catheterization laboratories. Visitors were also some of the first to see the hospital’s breath-taking interior features, including fireplace-furnished patient areas, the stained glass chapel window and numerous other exciting locations.

Announced in 2009, the new Good Samaritan Regional Health Center was built to replace the existing hospital, which has served the Mt. Vernon community since 1952. The new $237 million facility broke ground in April 2010 and was built by McCarthy Building Companies of St. Louis, Lipps Construction of Mt. Vernon, and Shores Builders of Centralia. The new hospital is expected to accept patients on Jan. 27.

The existing Good Samaritan campus on North 12th Street in Mt. Vernon is being sold to Shores Builders of Centralia. It will be demolished and returned to green-lots for potential development.

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