The hospital, Homer G. Phillips Memorial Hospital, officially opened Jan. 16 and aims to provide access to healthcare to a community that “hasn’t had 24/7 healthcare in at least probably two generations,” according to Karen Johnson, BSN, RN, chief operating officer and chief nursing officer of the hospital. But its name is garnering controversy.
A group called Homer G. Phillips Nurses Alumni are voicing their concerns about the hospital’s new name and initiated legal action against the hospital’s developer, Paul McKee, in 2022.
The group, made up of nurses who worked at the original Homer G. Phillips hospital in the Ville Neighborhood, which closed in 1979, says the name is trademarked to the original. The new hospital is in St. Louis’ Carr Square neighborhood.
“We just want the name removed because of the trademark and because of the legacy of Homer G. Phillips hospital being in The Ville area,” Yvonne Jones, president of Homer G. Phillips Nurses Alumni, told the publication.
The lawsuit over the name stands in state court, according to KSD.
Mr. McKee did not respond to the publication’s request for comment.
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