SGCMH History                                                                  Our Beginning

Ste. Genevieve County Memorial Hospital is a not-for-profit, county-owned Critical Access Hospital governed by a community-elected five-member board of trustees. Located in the City of Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, it began as a 35-bed facility with 42 employees in 1969. From those modest beginnings, Ste. Genevieve County Memorial Hospital has grown to a major referral center and primary care provider.

Growth and Expansion
By 1972, demands for increased services required expanding the hospital, renovations that were financed by another bond issue, which passed by an overwhelming majority of county voters. By 1978, the hospital increased its capacity to 53 beds, and by 1980, the emergency room, surgery department, laboratory, and x-ray services were upgraded and expanded.

Additional construction in 1993 addressed the community's need for wellness programs and expanded outpatient services. A 21,000 square foot addition to the original building added a new health education wing, an outpatient rehabilitation facility, and an expanded specialty physician’s clinic.

In 1996, the hospital converted basement storage space to house new outpatient programs added to the hospital's growing range of services. The space accommodated the newly launched occupational health clinic, a rapidly growing cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation program, an office for hospice services, and new headquarters for respiratory therapy, as well as space for data management administration.

Over the past 40 years, the local community has remained dedicated to helping the hospital grow. A testimony to the community's commitment was the successful fundraising effort for a new oncology department that raised $300,000 from local donors in less than 11 months. The new facility opened in Winter 2001 with 1500 square feet added to the existing space. Patients now receive treatments in private rooms affording them comfortable surroundings and privacy.

Another expansion that has benefited the community is the opening of the Bloomsdale Family Health Center in January 2001. The Center is an effort to expand services into the rapidly growing northern portion of the county. Future projects may include an expanded emergency department and a physicians’ office building.

Expanding our circle of care
In April 2004, Ste. Genevieve County Memorial Hospital purchased a local primary care practice and medical building from St. Louis University, keeping its two physicians and nurse practitioner in the community. The newly acquired medical office building also permitted the relocation of another physician and nurse practitioner to accommodate the overall expansion of that practice.

Less than one month later, Ste. Genevieve County Memorial Hospital also assumed ownership of the local 120-bed nursing home, a facility the hospital had been managing for approximately 18 months under contract with the county government. The county transferred ownership of the facility to the hospital who assumed the responsibility of returning the nursing home to financial viability. The facility changed its name to Riverview-at-the-Park Care and Rehabilitation Center to reflect its resurgence of energy and vitality. The hospital retained ownership of Riverview until October 2009.

A new Emergency Department and Front Entrance
The hospital broke ground for a new Emergency Department in March 2007 and opened the new state-of-the-art facility in September, 2008. On the heels of this project, plans were made to remodel the front entrance to more closely resemble the new ER. Work was completed on this project in December 2009.

Today, our healthcare organization includes the 53-bed licensed acute care hospital, which received Critical Access Hospital Designation (CAH) in 2005, and six local physician practices. We employ nearly 300 individuals with a medical team comprised of 66 active, courtesy and consulting physicians.