By Tom Weber, KWMU
St. Louis, MO – A panel that's meeting today (Monday) in Jefferson City could decide whether BJC HealthCare gets to build a hospital in St. Charles County.
A $75 million facility is planned in O'Fallon where Highway K meets Highway 40.
The so-called Health Facilities Review Commission will have to decide whether the proposal would duplicate existing services.
Opponents include competitor SSM HealthCare and the St. Charles County Council.
They say BJC has not shown there's a need for a new hospital because people can drive to other facilities within 20 minutes.
They've also expressed concern that a new hospital could stretch already-slim resources at current facilities.
But BJC says health care has to keep up with the population in Missouri's fastest growing county.
It has also noted that more than half of all people in St. Charles County who seek treatement leave the county to do so.