Memorial Care Center to transition to Bethesda management

Effective April 1, 2022, Bethesda Health Group will assume management of operations at Memorial Care Center (MCC) in Belleville. Management includes all aspects of patient care, staffing and business functions. Memorial will retain ownership. In addition, Keri Bryer has been named administrator. She has served as director of nursing at MCC since 2019.

This transition expands the existing long-term care management agreement that BJC HealthCare established in 2015. MCC is the fourth BJC facility Bethesda will manage. Other facilities include Village North Retirement Community/Christian Extended Care & Rehabilitation in north St. Louis County, Alton Memorial Rehabilitation & Therapy (formerly Eunice Smith Home) and Barnes-Jewish Extended Care in Clayton, Missouri.

“Memorial Care Center has a strong reputation for quality and fits well with Bethesda’s core mission of senior care and focus on operational excellence,” says Mike McManus, president of Memorial Hospitals.

Under the management agreement, Memorial will continue to own MCC while Bethesda will manage all aspects of operations. Bethesda also will assume employment of MCC staff with the exception of shared support departments (such as food and nutrition, facilities, lab, pharmacy, radiology, transport and security), which will remain with MCC. BJC, Memorial and Bethesda are committed to ensuring a smooth transition for both MCC patients and staff. All current staff members will retain their positions, seniority and earned time, and will transition to the Bethesda benefits plan, which is comparable to BJC benefits.

“BJC strives to provide the highest quality of care to our communities in all aspects of our services,” says Dan Rothery, president of BJC Home Care and community services. “Our long-term care residents and rehabilitative patients receive the best of care, and we believe expanding our partnership with Bethesda presents an opportunity to further improve how our services are delivered. As a local organization with extensive expertise and experience in such care, Bethesda shares our organizational values and has delivered exceptional care at our Alton, Christian and Barnes-Jewish facilities since we began our relationship nearly seven years ago.”

Memorial Hospital acquired MCC (then known as Memorial Convalescent Center) in 1964, thus becoming the first St. Clair County extended care facility owned and operated by a hospital.  Now known as Memorial Care Center, the 82-bed facility is Medicare approved. It has been named one of the best nursing homes in 2021 by U.S. News and World Report (12 consecutive years) as well as is a five-star facility recognized by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

A local, nonprofit provider of exceptional senior living, care and services, Bethesda provides senior services through six retirement communities, two assisted living facility, six skilled nursing/short-stay rehab communities, memory support, and a wide range of community-based programs (care management, home health, in-home private duty, hospice care) with an equal focus on quality and value for its residents and clients. Bethesda was founded 133 years ago and today is focused on creating supportive and caring lifestyles for metro St. Louis-area seniors.