While the Homer G. Phillips Nurses Alumni copyright infringement lawsuit appeal continues, the three-bed urgent care facility at Jefferson and Cass that carries the name of the acclaimed attorney may soon cease to exist.
The troubled facility could soon permanently lose its license and be shuttered – another of the failed projects and broken promises left behind by developer Paul McKee.
In December 2024, the state found it didn’t have enough blood on supply. Hospital officials said the closure was temporary but in late February sent many employees emails saying their jobs at the hospital had been eliminated.
Alumni members are adamant they want a healthcare facility in the area, even at the present location. But it cannot carry the name of Homer G. Phillips and not be a McKee project.
“[We] have received information that Homer G. Phillips Memorial Hospital in north St. Louis has been permanently closed. The 80 employees have been terminated,” Lois Jackson, Nurses Alumni Inc., second vice president said.
“It saddens our heart that our legacy has been damaged yet, we are empathetic towards the employees that have lost their jobs.
“The northside area definitely needs a medical facility, the name just needs to be changed.”
Jackson said the organization’s attorney has advised it that the closing of the hospital does not affect the copyright infringement lawsuit.
“We are still waiting on McKee’s group to file their response to our appeal. We did request an oral argument in our appeal case,” said Jackson.
Jackson said it is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Tuesday May 13 at One Post Office Square, 815 Olive Street in St. Louis.
St. Louis Public Radio reported that, according to the state Department of Health and Senior Services, the hospital will lose its license next week if it doesn’t send the state a plan to correct its deficiencies and allow regulators to conduct a site inspection.
“When things would look bad working there, I’m like, ‘They didn’t spend all these years getting this place built for us to close in [11] months,’” said now-unemployed nurse Jenn Williams.
“But apparently they did.”
Hospital officials requested the state suspend its license while it dealt with issues at the property. The state granted and then extended its license suspension, but it’s set to expire March 17.
Operators of the hospital submitted a correction plan late last month, but state regulators did not accept it because it wasn’t detailed enough, DHSS spokesperson Lisa Cox said in an email.
Hospital officials did not respond to requests for comments.
If the hospital doesn’t send its updated correction plan within the next week, or if DHSS cannot approve the plan and conduct an in-person inspection of the facility, the hospital will lose its license to operate.
That means its operators will need to apply for and receive a new one before they can see patients again.
It is possible that the facility could still submit its plan and gain approval before the deadline next week, but “there would be a very large amount of work that would need to be accomplished in a short timeframe,” Cox said.
Williams and other employees said the hospital still owes them money from paychecks, PTO payouts and other benefits.
Talisa Smittie, who worked in registration at the hospital, said she was unable to receive unemployment while on furlough.
She hasn’t heard from the hospital’s operators since she received a letter last month saying her position had been terminated.
“When you have people under you, you have a responsibility to your staff, just as your staff has responsibility,” Smittie said. “Be transparent. Be truthful. We’re all adults. … Regardless if you’re opening or not, maybe a lot of people wouldn’t be so upset, disappointed and bitter about the whole thing. Just be transparent and be honest.”
She said she hopes to soon go back to school to get certified as a respiratory therapist, so she has more job opportunities.
Williams, the RN, said that it would be a shame for the neighborhood in north St. Louis to lose a place for residents to get medical care.
“It’s just past frustrating,” she said. “All of us love working in that community. It was so obvious that it was needed…. I’ve been a nurse for 13 years.
“The appreciation of the patient — not that that’s the only reason I do — it was just so obviously there. I really felt like I was helping.”
Alvin A. Reid of the St. Louis American contributed to this report
This is awful, can they not see that anything involving McKee is a bust! We’ve got to wake up when it comes to this person. Our community and the citizens matter. The facility is desperately needed.