Two hospitals will be built in Joplin to replace the one destroyed by the May 22 tornado. The location of the new St. John’s Mercy Hospital will be I-44 and Main Street. The site of the second facility in northeast Joplin will be announced in six weeks.
Sisters of Mercy Health System President Lynn Britton work on the I-44 location will begin in January, with both hospitals expected to open in 2014.
He says it will cost between 850 and 900 million dollars over the next three years to get the community’s health care system put back in place. That includes an estimated $129-136 million for temporary facilities they’ve set up, $483-543 million for the new permanent facility and $242-309 million for operation expenses.
That last amount includes workers being kept on the payroll even if there is nothing for them to do in Joplin. Some are still at home or working at other Mercy facilities.