Former Homer G. Phillips hospital staff continue fight for name change
The Homer G. Phillips Memorial Hospital closed unexpectedly days ago, and members of the change the name coalition met Thursday.
ST. LOUIS – The Homer G. Phillips Memorial Hospital closed unexpectedly days ago, and members of the Change the Name coalition met Thursday.
“The 70 employees of this facility have missed their paychecks five times this year,” co-chair of the coalition Zenoiba Thompson said. “The last time these employees were paid was twenty days ago—on Nov. 20.”
It remains unclear if or when the business will reopen.
The group of retirees and former nurses from the original Homer G. Phillps Hospital on Whittier Street spoke out Thursday.
“They’re not saying we don’t want a healthcare facility in north St. Louis, because we need one. We just don’t want it to be named after Homer G. because it does not stand to the level of what the original Homer G. legacy and hospital were that put these nurses together,” Alderman Rasheen Aldridge (Ward 14) said.
The healthcare workers have fought for years to remove the name from the hospital off of Jefferson and Cass.
“It’s unfair to these younger generations—they should know about Homer Phillips. This is our history. This is our culture,” Ollie Mae Stewart with the coalition said.
Lois C. Jackson, also with the coalition, says their lawsuit will go on, going to the court of appeals next.
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