Hospital officials present plan for new medical facility on 39th Street

Bethany, MO: Harrison County Community Hospital district officials unveiled plans for the construction of a $62 million hospital during Tuesday night’s meeting of the Bethany City Council.

The location of the new hospital would require the relocation of a section of 39th Street to the east of the new facility and moving gas and water lines. The hospital would be responsible for the costs of relocating the street and the utilities.

Several hospital employees filled the council room as CEO Tina Gillespie and district board Chairman Glenn Dale Cox discussed plans for the 83,000-square-foot hospital that would replace the present facility at Highway 69 and East Miller Street. Gillespie said the 70-year-old facility is located on a six-acre site without room for expansion.

Cox said the new facility will be designed for future expansion and would serve the community for at least as long as the current hospital.

Mayor Lance Johns and City Council members, while supportive of building the new hospital, didn’t give immediate approval for relocating a portion of 39th Street without hearing from the public.

Westward Councilman Randy Mann said city officials had only recently been made aware of the relocation plan. “I haven’t heard anything from the public,” he said. City officials delayed taking any official action on the proposal until at least the next council meeting on July 18. In the meantime, officials said they wanted to hear comments from the public about the plan.