A small hospital in north St. Louis that closed less than a year after opening is scheduled to reopen soon under new management.
The former Homer G. Phillips Memorial Hospital on North Jefferson Avenue, redubbed Archview ER and Hospital, will provide “concierge-level community care” to Carr Square and its surrounding neighborhood, hospital officials said in a news release.
Nutex Health, a physician-owned and publicly traded company, will operate the small hospital across the street from the new campus of the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency. Archview officials said they plan to offer emergency, inpatient and outpatient services 24 hours a day, every day of the year. The site will also provide lab services and medical imaging.
“This hospital is a meaningful step toward expanding access to quality care and supporting the health of families in our community,” said Karen Johnson, Archview’s chief nursing officer, in the release. “I am honored to be part of a team that’s here to serve, support and make a difference when it matters most.”
Archview representatives did not immediately respond to a request for an interview.
According to the hospital’s website, the new hospital “follows the micro-hospital model, which emphasizes accessibility, efficiency and personalized care.”
The sitey originally opened as Homer G. Phillips Memorial Hospital in early 2024 in a brand-new building developed by Northside Regeneration, the company run by embattled developer Paul McKee. It had three inpatient beds and an emergency department.
It shared a name with the former Homer G. Phillips Hospital in the Ville neighborhood, which served Black residents during a time when medical services were racially segregated, but it was not related to the former facility. Former nurses at the Ville hospital sued the hospital to keep it from using the name but were ultimately unsuccessful.
Backers at the time said the new medical center brought needed services to underserved neighborhoods north of downtown.
But the hospital soon ran into issues, closing temporarily in December 2024 when it could not maintain an adequate blood supply. According to a report from the Missouri Department of Health and Human Services, conditions at the hospital “placed all patients of the hospital at risk.”
The same inspection found staffing, medical record services and infection prevention programs to be out of compliance with state statutes, according to the DHSS report. It also found the facility lacked an operating budget for the year.
After a few months, Homer G. Phillips Memorial let its license to operate expire and closed down.
The new operator, Houston-based Nutex, runs around two dozen hospitals in 12 states, according to its website. It’s expanding quickly, with 10 more hospitals in development.
If the hospital begins seeing patients before mid-December, it will not need to file for a new certificate of need, a state document that shows there's demand for services in a certain area, said DHSS spokeswoman Lisa Cox.
The state is working with the hospital for it to receive its license, she said.
Although Nutex has announced it will operate the hospital, St. Louis real estate records indicate the same company that owned the hospital when it closed, HGP Properties, still owns the facility.
City records show that company applied last month for building, electrical and occupancy permits for the micro-hospital building.
Micro-hospitals, sometimes called neighborhood hospitals, are much smaller than traditional hospitals and typically serve patients with less complex medical needs. Backers say the model results in faster and more convenient services for patients.
According to Archview’s website, the hospital will not accept Tricare, Medicare or Medicaid.
“Archview ER & Hospital is classified as out-of-network with many insurance companies; however, Archview ER & Hospital does honor all in-network deductibles and benefits,” the website states.
Still, all patients can receive a general checkup from an ER physician regardless of insurance status.
Close to half of the households in the ZIP code where the hospital is located, 63106, make below the federal poverty level, according to data from the St. Louis Department of Health.
The hospital will offer special rates to those who can pay in cash, which may “significantly reduce your out-of-pocket costs and eliminate the need for insurance authorization,” Archview says in an FAQ page on its site.
The new hospital is scheduled to open before the end of the year, Archview officials said.
St. Louis Public Radio's Rachel Lippmann contributed reporting to this article.
