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Construction Underway on New Long-Term Care Facility

WACO, TX-Today's ground breaking ceremony marked the official beginning of the construction project for a new long-term care campus at the corner of Highway 6 and American Plaza Drive.  Officials from both Providence Healthcare Network and CHRISTUS Health participated in the ceremony.

The systems have entered into a collaborative agreement to build a new, 342-bed facility that will provide state-of-the-art care for seniors in the Waco community, thereby eliminating current, duplicative provisions of such services at separate facilities within the two systems.  The new facility, which is being built at a cost of approximately $22.7 million, will consist of a 240-bed long term care nursing facility (St. Catherine Center), a 42-bed assisted living facility (St. Elizabeth Place), and a 60-bed independent living facility (The Village at Providence Park).

A separate project by Barnett Construction of Waco includes the construction of a street connecting Richland West Circle with American Plaza Drive.  This new street has been named Marillac Drive in memory of St. Louise de Marillac, co-foundress of the Daughters of Charity with St. Vincent DePaul.

The local architectural firm of Raso, Dudley, Bailey, and Rose, Inc., has worked with a team made up of members from both health care systems to design the new facility.  Centex Management Construction Technologies, Ltd. of Waco, will manage construction of the new campus which will provide the community with a state-of-the-art continuum of care for elderly services which will be integrated with the existing array of acute care, ambulatory care, mental health and home care services already available at the Providence campus in Southwest Waco.

The target opening date for the new facility, which will continue to operate as part of the Providence Healthcare Network, is summer 2003.  Once construction of the new facility is complete, residents of the St. Catherine and CHRISTUS The Regis/St. Elizabeth Centers will be transitioned to the new facility or facilities of their choice.  The existing CHRISTUS The Regis/St. Elizabeth facility, located at 400 Austin Avenue, will be offered for sale for other-than-elderly services.  In addition, alternative uses for the St. Catherine Center, located at 1700 Providence Drive, will be explored.  If no reuse option can be identified, the facility will be razed and the land retained for future uses which will benefit the community.  Staff of the CHRISTUS The Regis/St. Elizabeth Centers will be offered available positions for which they are qualified within the new facility, within the Providence Healthcare Network, or within other CHRISTUS-sponsored centers.

The agreement between Providence and CHRISTUS calls for CHRISTUS The Regis/St. Elizabeth Centers to remain in full operation during the new facility construction period.  CHRISTUS will cover all operating costs for the existing center, and once the new facility is complete, will transfer all residents to the new campus.

According to Kent A. Keahey, President of the Providence Healthcare Network, while both Providence and CHRISTUS share a long history of collaboration, commitment to the community, and a desire to strengthen the Catholic health care ministry's provision of elder care services, each faces similar issues related to their long term viability.  "Both facilities were initially designed for other uses and are inefficient to operate," Keahey said, noting that the St. Catherine Center was originally an acute care hospital, while The Regis facility was formerly a hotel.  St. Elizabeth, a 4-story building, was added in 1978.

"The existing, outdated design of the current facilities, in addition to the associated staffing requirements, and utility and maintenance expenses make both facilities inefficient to operate," said Mike Sims, Vice President of Long Term Care services at Providence and Administrator of St. Catherine Center.  Remodeling of the current facilities was determined to be infeasible.

According to Tom Royer, M.D., President and CEO of CHRISTUS Health, the collaborative agreement supports the CHRISTUS Health mission and commitment to ensuring the continued availability of Catholic health care.  "The agreement with the Providence Healthcare Network will not only ensure that The Regis/St. Elizabeth residents continue to be cared for, but will also sustain a strong Catholic health care presence in the Waco community for years to come," stated Dr. Royer.  "As reimbursement continues to decline, CHRISTUS, just as other health care organizations, must continually re-assess its programs and services and reallocate resources to best meet the needs of the communities it serves.  This arrangement will meet the needs of the elderly in the community, eliminate costly duplication of services, and also make the current Regis/St. Elizabeth facility available for other uses consistent with the development of the downtown Waco area.  A committee of community leaders will be formed by the local governing board to recommend the best uses of the Regis/St. Elizabeth buildings.

CHRISTUS will no longer operate a long-term health care ministry in the Waco area, but is confident that Providence Healthcare Network will continue the tradition of providing quality, Catholic health care in the community, according to Tom Royer, M.D., President and CEO of CHRISTUS Health.  "The Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word began to operate The Regis/St. Elizabeth Center in 1985 when it was purchased upon request of then owner, the Diocese of Austin.  Our mission calls for us to ensure that community needs are met.  We feel the new facility will continue to meet and exceed the area needs for faith-based senior health care and that our resources could better be used in other ways yet to be determined."

Sponsored jointly by the Congregations of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word in Houston and the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, CHRISTUS Health comprises more than 30 hospitals and long-term care facilities as well as dozens of other health services in approximately 60 communities in Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Utah.

CHRISTUS Health is headquartered in the greater Dallas Metropolitan area, with additional offices operating in both San Antonio and Houston to support the health systems operations.

The St. Catherine Center is part of the Providence Healthcare Network which was founded in Waco in 1904 by the Daughters of Charity.  The Providence Healthcare Network consists of Providence Health Center, the St. Catherine Center, the DePaul Center, Providence Home Care, the Providence Foundation, the Providence Health Alliance, and the Providence Clinics.  The Providence Healthcare Network is a member of Ascension Health, the largest non-profit and largest Catholic system in the United States with 79 hospitals in 15 States and the District of Columbia.  Ascension Health, headquartered in St. Louis, is co-sponsored by the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent DePaul and the Sisters of St. Joseph of Nazareth, Michigan.