Planning and Zoning approves southside Landmark hospital expansion

UPDATE: The Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously agreed to recommend the approval of the proposed facility.

Laura Peckham, CEO of Landmark Hospitals of Columbia, said the site would serve as an expansion of the current facility at 603 Old 63 in Columbia.

The current building holds two hospitals, one specializing in rehabilitation and the other in specialty care, Peckham said. The latter would be moved to the new facility, if approved by the City Council.

Patients stay in the specialty care hospital between three and six weeks, and there are 23 beds slated for the new facility, Peckham said.

Members of the commission asked why the proposal includes space for over 300 parking spots despite having significantly fewer beds. Peckham said the spaces are for long-term patients, visiting family members, and other service providers.

“Specialty physicians…, in addition to radiological services, CT scans, X-rays and other services that are not currently able to be provided at our small location at (604 Old 63),” Peckham said to commission members.

ORIGINAL: A plan for a three-story, 30,000-square-foot hospital in south Columbia will be weighed by the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission at a public hearing Thursday.

According to a city staff report, which recommended approval of the plan, the 6.65-acre site would be located between Nacona Parkway and Ponderosa Road, near the Aria Apartments and Marriot hotel.

The property owner, P1316 LLC, is requesting approval of the plan on behalf of Landmark Hospitals, which already owns and operates one Columbia critical care hospital.

There is no declared intended purpose for the hospital listed on the city’s website, but Landmark Hospitals operates several critical care centers.

“Through our growing system of critical care hospitals we provide solutions for patients who face a hospital discharge, yet still require acute medical care,” the company says on its website. “Our patients may simply need additional time to recover from an illness or injury, or they may present medically complex cases that require a multi-disciplinary approach to extended acute healthcare.”