SBL Fayette County Hospital Starts Medical Office Pavilion Construction

Sarah Bush Lincoln Fayette County Hospital has two construction projects underway to improve access to care and enhance the patients’ experience.

The first project which is expected to be complete in August, creates an outside entrance to the Emergency Department (ED) providing quicker access to the ED. Currently people needing urgent care enter through the hospital’s main entrance. People will continue to drive under the main canopy on the northwest corner of the hospital to a smaller canopy for easy drop-off at the new entrance.

Visitors will enjoy a new reception area, triage room and restrooms with closer proximity to the ED. The project cost is $1.5 million to complete.

SBL FCH President Karen Dyer said, “This is one of the improvements identified when Sarah Bush Lincoln purchased the hospital last year. The new ED entrance will provider quicker access to people with urgent medical needs. We believe our community will be very pleased with the change and we are anxiously awaiting the opening in late summer.”

The second, and much larger project, is the construction of a medical office pavilion on the southwest corner of the hospital’s property.

The two-story brick, metal-panel and glass building spans 42,000 square feet at a cost of $15 million. The architect is BSA LifeStructures and the general contractor is Grunloh Construction of Effingham. It is expected to be complete in summer 2025.

Dyer explained that the first floor will house primary care, physical and occupational therapy and urgent care – three services that are currently offered in other leased Vandalia facilities, which need many repairs. Primary care providers relocating from SBLFCH Family Medical Center include Jeff Jenson, MD, Advanced Practice Provider Deidre Langston, APRN, and pediatric provider Kim Peery, PNP. The first floor will have 24 exam rooms, X-ray and phlebotomy services.

Future plans for the second floor, which will not be immediately completed, include space for specialty clinics and relocating clinics currently located on the hospital’s second floor, as well as the business office and medical record management.

“We couldn’t be more excited for this medical office pavilion project. It will create clinic space on our campus that is both efficient for the staff and comfortable for our patients, while staying true to the Sarah Bush Lincoln brand for its facilities,” Dyer added.

For more information, contact Dyke Marble, SBLFCH Plant Operations Director at 618-283-1232.