Memorial Care Center Added to Bethesda/BJC Management Agreement

Employees, patients and families at Memorial Care Center—welcome to Bethesda! Effective April 1, 2022, Bethesda will assume management of operations at Memorial Care Center (MCC), an 82-bed rehab and skilled nursing community on the campus of Memorial Hospital in Belleville, Illinois.

This transition expands the existing long-term care management agreement between BJC HealthCare, of which Memorial Hospital is a member, and Bethesda. MCC will become the fourth BJC facility Bethesda manages; Memorial Hospital will retain ownership of the facility.

“We believe expanding our partnership with Bethesda presents an opportunity to further improve how our services are delivered,” says Dan Rothery, president of BJC Home Care and community services. “Bethesda shares our organizational values and has delivered exceptional care at the other managed facilities since we began our relationship in 2015.”

“Memorial Care Center has a strong reputation for quality and fits well with Bethesda’s core mission of senior care and focus on operational excellence,” adds Mike McManus, president of Memorial Hospitals (a second hospital is located in Shiloh, Illinois).

It’s safe to say that no current Bethesda employee knows Memorial Care Center any better than Kiel Peregrin, Chief Operating Officer. For the last four months, Kiel has been driving to Belleville five days a week and serving as the interim Administrator of the facility while continuing to serve in his executive role at Bethesda.

That changed in mid-December, when the promotion of Keri Bryer, who had been serving as MCC’s Director of Nursing, to full-time Administrator was announced at the same time as the facility’s impending transition to Bethesda management.

“From my perspective, the Bethesda culture and the one I’ve witnessed the last few months at Memorial Care Center are going to mesh quite nicely,” Kiel says.

“BJC’s decision to increase the number of communities it has entrusted Bethesda to manage is an accomplishment for which each of us should be very proud,” wrote Joe Brinker, President & CEO, in a message to Bethesda employees on the day of the announcement. “This decision is a direct reflection on the care and services you and your staffs provide to residents and families every day!”