State Approves $231 Million Touchette Regional Hospital to Expand Care in Metro East

CAHOKIA HEIGHTS - Plans for a new 108-bed Touchette Regional Hospital in Cahokia Heights received state approval Tuesday, July 21, 2026, clearing the way for a $231 million healthcare investment designed to expand behavioral health services, attract medical specialists and help more Southern Illinois and Metro East patients receive care close to home.

The Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board approved the new hospital, which will be built at 1928 Sandy Ridge Road, approximately five miles from Touchette’s current location. Groundbreaking is expected in March 2027, with the hospital scheduled to open in mid-to-late 2029.

“This new hospital will fill a critical gap for patients and families across our region,” said Brad Goacher, Touchette Regional Hospital President. “At a time when many hospitals our size are reducing services, Touchette is expanding access to medical, surgical and behavioral health care that is urgently needed. Right now, nearly half of all referrals made in our community go unmet. This project will help more people access the care they need.”

The new hospital will include 12 private medical-surgical beds, 48 adult behavioral health beds, 24 geriatric behavioral health beds and 24 adolescent behavioral health beds. The adolescent unit, serving patients ages 12 to 17, will be the only program of its kind in Illinois south of Springfield. The new facility will include a state-of-the-art emergency department as well as services such as surgery, gastroenterology, diagnostic imaging, laboratory services and pulmonary testing.

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The new hospital is a major component of the East St. Louis Health Transformation Partnership, a collaboration between Touchette Regional Hospital, Southern Illinois Health Care Foundation, d/b/a SIHF Healthcare and other community partners. The project will be funded primarily through Illinois’ Healthcare Transformation Collaboratives program and approximately $193 million will come from a transformation grant administered by the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services. The Illinois Capital Development Board will contribute $15 million, and Touchette Regional Hospital will fund the remaining $23 million.

“This project is especially meaningful because it brings together Touchette Regional Hospital, SIHF Healthcare, and other community partners around a shared goal - solving the urgent and measurable gap in critical healthcare and economic developments,” said Larry McCulley, CEO of SIHF Healthcare. “The new hospital is part of a broader, coordinated investment in the region, and we are grateful for the support from the City of Cahokia Heights, Senator Christopher Belt, and others in helping make this investment possible.”

SIHF Healthcare and Touchette have successfully recruited new providers during the last five years, with an initial focus on surgery, cardiology, neurology, endocrinology and behavioral health. Dr. Dolores Gunn, a local physician who spoke in favor of the project, said the new hospital will help reduce the number of Illinois patients who must travel to Missouri or even Chicago for treatment.

“In recent years, we have seen an increasing number of patients in the area who needed to be admitted, but were transferred out to other hospitals, primarily in Missouri and adolescents to Chicago for behavioral health,” said Dr. Gunn. “Those are Illinois patients, leaving the community for care. A modern hospital with new capacity will help Touchette recruit the specialists the region needs to keep our patients here at home. Access to great, local healthcare creates healthy outcomes and saves lives.”

Touchette’s current facility at 5900 Bond Avenue, which was built in the 1960’s, will discontinue inpatient services once the new hospital opens. Some outpatient services will remain at the existing location, and portions of the building are expected to be repurposed to support local health needs.

“This project is more than just a replacement of our current aging hospital,” Goacher said. “It is an investment in the future of health in our region and for the patients who deserve access to high-quality care in their own communities.”

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