SHAKOPEE, Minn. — Tuesday, May 18, St. Francis Regional Medical Center broke ground for an expansion adding rooms for the treatment of mental health in the emergency department.
Increasing patient access to emergency mental health treatment is essential as the communities within Scott and Carver Counties experience a drastic rise in emergency mental health and addiction crises. To meet the increased demand in the emergency department, the project adds six rooms designed for patients experiencing mental health emergencies. This expansion allows St. Francis’ emergency department the resources and facilities to respond and care for these individuals as they heal.
During construction, St. Francis’ emergency department will incur minimal disruption and remain fully operational. The new emergency department mental health space is anticipated to open in late 2021.
“St. Francis is committed to ensuring emergency mental health care to our growing community and offering the safest environment for those patients at their most vulnerable time,” explains Amy Jerdee, St. Francis president. “We have carefully tailored our expansion plans to meet our objectives, while balancing the needs of the growing population with our commitment to financial responsibility.”
While the project will be largely funded from resources previously set aside for reinvestment in the hospital, St. Francis announced a $5 million Capital Campaign to help fundraise for the project in 2020. To support the new emergency mental health rooms at St. Francis, Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community (SMSC) pledged a $1 million donation to the expansion. SMSC’s pledge was the first to St. Francis’ Capital Campaign and is the largest capital donation in St. Francis history.
“Our community is experiencing unprecedented growth and our current mental health facilities cannot keep up with the demand in a way that honors our commitment to patients and their families,” says Christine Delmonico, MD, emergency physician at St. Francis and president of Suburban Emergency Associates. “Access to state-of-the-art emergency mental health care directly contributes to the health and safety of our growing community, while keeping our staff and patients safe, and providing a healing environment for our patients experiencing mental health emergencies."
Tuesday’s groundbreaking took place during an intimate site blessing ceremony lead by Father Doug Ebert, of the Parish of Saints Joachim & Anne Catholic Church and Shakopee Area Catholic School. Also making remarks on the plans were St. Francis’ Amy Jerdee, president, Christine Delmonico, MD, an emergency department physician and president of Suburban Emergency Associates, and representatives from the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community. In attendance were representatives from St. Francis’ owners, Allina Health, HealthPartners Park Nicollet and Essentia Health, as well as Shakopee government leaders, hospital board members and staff. The gathering was held outside and kept small to adhere to best practices against spreading COVID-19.
To learn more about Capital Campaign donation opportunities, visit saintsfoundation.org/capitalcampaign.
About St. Francis Regional Medical Center
St. Francis Regional Medical Center is owned by Allina Health, HealthPartners Park Nicollet and Essentia Health. This unique structure combines the caring and compassion of a community hospital with the advanced medical technology, specialties and expertise of industry-leading health systems. St. Francis provides a full range of inpatient, outpatient and emergency care services on a collaborative medical campus with more than 30 affiliated clinics and 450 providers in the community.