CHICAGO – Continuing to make important investments in communities in Southwest Illinois, Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich today announced a nearly $435,000 Opportunity Returns grant to construct critical infrastructure for the new St. Elizabeth’s Hospital Monroe County Medical Building in Columbia.  In addition to increasing health care services throughout Monroe Country, Columbia residents will now have their first medical office building dedicated solely to meeting the region’s health care needs.  When completed in late summer of 2006, the facility is expected to create more than 40 new full-time jobs.

“It is critical that our working families through out this region have access to quality health care.  The Opportunity Returns grant we are announcing today will not only ensure local residents can receive vital medical services, but it will create more jobs and spur economic growth in Southwest Illinois,” Gov. Blagojevich said.

Gov. Blagojevich’s Opportunity Returns investment will be used to construct an access frontage road and to extend a sanitary sewer main that is vital infrastructure for the completion of the hospital.  The grant is administered by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity through the Community Development Assistance Program (CDAP).

The new Monroe County Medical Building will have an UrgiCare Center for non-life-threatening minor medical emergencies, a sleep disorder center, laboratory services, radiology and imaging services for ultrasound, mammography, CT scan and MRI procedures, a physical therapy suite, and 15,000 square feet of physician office space. 

“Monroe County residents have access to an expanded menu of health care services thanks to Gov. Blagojevich’s support that has helped make this new facility a reality.  Local residents will now have a doctor's care available at their fingertips,” said Tim Brady, administrator for St Elizabeth’s Hospital.

“The new hospital is making health care more accessible in our region, and Gov. Blagojevich is providing an important infrastructure investment that is helping to make this new hospital a reality,” State Senator David Luechtefeld (R-Owkaville) said.

"Even through our state’s difficult fiscal times, we’ve seen Gov. Blagojevich’s commitment to funding health care, initiatives that will create jobs, as well as investments that improve the quality of life in local communities.  In addition to providing health care, this new hospital will be an important economic engine for Monroe County,” said State Representative Dan Reitz (D-Sparta).
      
“For nearly three years, creating jobs and improving access to health care have been two of Gov. Blagojevich’s top priorities, and today we are seeing tangible results of that commitment in this region,” DCEO Director Jack Lavin said.

Established in 1875, St. Elizabeth’s is a 500-bed acute care hospital based in Belleville.  The hospital handled nearly 157,000 outpatient visits, admitted nearly 13,000 patients last year, and employs a 1,600-person medical staff representing more than 40 specialties.  St. Elizabeth’s is part of the Hospital Sisters Health System, the nation’s 13th largest acute care hospital system with 13 facilities in Illinois and Wisconsin.  The corporate headquarters and motherhouse of the Hospital Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis, the founder of the system, are in Springfield.

Gov. Blagojevich’s Opportunity Returns regional economic development strategy is the most aggressive, comprehensive approach to creating jobs in Illinois’ history.  Since a one-size-fits-all approach to economic development just doesn’t work, the Governor has divided the state into 10 regions – each with a regional team that is empowered and expected to rapidly respond to opportunities and challenges.  Opportunity Returns is about tangible, specific actions to make each region more accessible, more marketable, more entrepreneurial and more attractive to businesses.  It is about upgrading the skills of the local workforce, increasing the access to capital, opening new markets, improving infrastructure, and creating and retaining jobs.  Opportunity Returns is about successfully partnering with companies and communities, both large and small, to help all of Illinois reach its economic potential.