Mercy Moves into Eureka

New name. New building. New services. Mercy Clinic Family Medicine reintroduced two physicians and a handful of employees Tuesday via a ribbon cutting ceremony at their newly opened office located at The Shoppes at Hilltop, 407 Meramec Blvd. in Eureka. The ceremony was conducted by staff and members.

The doctors — Kate Lichtenberg, DO, MPH and Robert Michaels, MD — are receiving patients of all ages, starting with newborns.

"We wanted to expand, and already have been able to do so with X-rays," said Lichtenberg.

The staff just spent the last three months operating from an office in Fenton at 832 Horan Dr., due to the new Eureka space not being ready quite as soon as first anticipated.

Prior to the Fenton location, their office was at 179 Eureka Towne Center Dr. in Eureka.

(See previous Eureka-Wildwood Patch article from December: )

"Our Eureka patients have been so good about the situation and the multiple transitions this year. We've all endured two moves, and we're happy our patients were so flexible when we couldn't be, due to the building circumstances," Lichtenberg said.

Lichtenberg is board certified in family medicine and public health/general preventive medicine. She has a master's degree in public health, and sits on the board of directors for the Missouri Academy of Family Physicians.

Michaels is board certified in family medicine as well, and specializes in preventive medicine.

Mercy staffers indicated their medical service is based on patient convenience and overall care. For example, their office hours will vary to reflect different patient schedules.

Michaels will be available from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Wednesday. His hours for Thursdays are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and on Friday, he will be available from 8 a.m. to noon.

Lichtenberg will be available from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Mondays. On Tuesdays, her hours are 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. On Wednesdays, she will be there from 8 a.m. to noon. On Thursdays, her hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and on Fridays, she will be available from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Sister Gayle Evans from Mercy performed a blessing of the office prior to the ribbon cutting ceremony. She reminded attendees that Mercy was started in the early 1800s by Catherine McAuley in Dublin, Ireland. McAuley inherited the estate of her adoptive parents, and she opened the "House of Mercy" there on Sept. 24, 1827. Through the years, the idea of serving sick and needy people grew.

"It is our spirit of hospitality, compassion and excellent service that makes where we work a 'place of Mercy.' And it is the people who serve here that make this building special — a place of Mercy," said Evans.

She presented two Mercy crosses to be erected in the new office as "signs of openness and welcomeness."

Mercy formerly was called St. John's Mercy Medical Center or Hospital until Sept. 1 when the organization's leaders renamed it Mercy Hospital St. Louis.