Expanded Surgery Access Through New Partnership
April 18, 2025
Hospital Sisters Health System (HSHS) Southern Illinois Market hospitals and Lincoln Surgical Associates, LTD (LSA) announce a service agreement to expand access to general surgery procedures throughout southwestern Illinois.
The partnership will ensure full-time general surgery coverage at HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospital in Breese and HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospital in Highland, along with after hours and weekend on-call support for all hospitals in the southern market, which also includes HSHS Holy Family Hospital in Greenville.
The agreement greatly expands the high-quality work LSA currently provides at HSHS St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in O’Fallon through this long-term and sustainable clinical model that will serve the patients in these smaller communities long into the future.
“There was a recognizable need for additional general surgeons to serve patients closer to home in the Breese, Highland and Greenville areas,” said Chris Klay, President and Chief Executive Officer of HSHS Southern Illinois Market. “To address this need, we are excited about this expanded partnership with our longtime collaborative partners of Lincoln Surgical Associates. They are an already well-respected provider group who have served patients in the metro east for decades, and we look forward to them bringing their expertise and commitment to quality care to our other hospitals in the region.”
This agreement is in addition to supplement already established surgeons at the HSHS hospitals who will also continue to see patients.
“This relationship started 45 years ago, as it was Lincoln Surgical’s mission to serve the community and that’s what we continue to do. Now we are able to further fulfill that for a larger geographical area,” said Dr. James Clanahan, FACS, President of Lincoln Surgical Associates. “We've had a great partner with St. Elizabeth's for all these years and the bottom line is that we are proud to expand our mission to be able to take care of even more people.”
Lincoln Surgical Associates specializes in all areas of general and cancer surgery, including breast, endocrine, colon and rectal, and foregut treatment. They also support emergent surgery needs such as appendicitis and bowel obstructions.
Last month, St. Elizabeth’s Hospital received approval from the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board (HFSRB) to build an outpatient surgical treatment center and medical office building on the current campus in O’Fallon, Illinois, to offer more much-needed, local health care resources to the community. Construction will begin over the summer and is expected to be completed in the spring of 2027.
The partnership will ensure full-time general surgery coverage at HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospital in Breese and HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospital in Highland, along with after hours and weekend on-call support for all hospitals in the southern market, which also includes HSHS Holy Family Hospital in Greenville.
The agreement greatly expands the high-quality work LSA currently provides at HSHS St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in O’Fallon through this long-term and sustainable clinical model that will serve the patients in these smaller communities long into the future.
“There was a recognizable need for additional general surgeons to serve patients closer to home in the Breese, Highland and Greenville areas,” said Chris Klay, President and Chief Executive Officer of HSHS Southern Illinois Market. “To address this need, we are excited about this expanded partnership with our longtime collaborative partners of Lincoln Surgical Associates. They are an already well-respected provider group who have served patients in the metro east for decades, and we look forward to them bringing their expertise and commitment to quality care to our other hospitals in the region.”
This agreement is in addition to supplement already established surgeons at the HSHS hospitals who will also continue to see patients.
“This relationship started 45 years ago, as it was Lincoln Surgical’s mission to serve the community and that’s what we continue to do. Now we are able to further fulfill that for a larger geographical area,” said Dr. James Clanahan, FACS, President of Lincoln Surgical Associates. “We've had a great partner with St. Elizabeth's for all these years and the bottom line is that we are proud to expand our mission to be able to take care of even more people.”
Lincoln Surgical Associates specializes in all areas of general and cancer surgery, including breast, endocrine, colon and rectal, and foregut treatment. They also support emergent surgery needs such as appendicitis and bowel obstructions.
Last month, St. Elizabeth’s Hospital received approval from the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board (HFSRB) to build an outpatient surgical treatment center and medical office building on the current campus in O’Fallon, Illinois, to offer more much-needed, local health care resources to the community. Construction will begin over the summer and is expected to be completed in the spring of 2027.
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