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Hospital project officially under way
Agriculture Under Secretary for Rural Development Dallas Tonsager and U.S. Sen. Ben nelson joined the Community Hospital Association and community residents in McCook on Sunday to break ground for the hospital's expansion and renovation project.
The Community Hospital Association has secured $35 million in funding with the project costs expected at approximately $30 million.
"The Obama Administration is committed to revitalizing rural communities and ensuring that hospitals like McCook's Community Hospital can bring quality medical services to its patients," Tonsager said.
"The hospital will benefit the region today and for future generations."
Funding for the project was provided through a $17 million Rural Development loan, funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Additionally, a $15 million Rural Development community facility guaranteed loan was financed through Thayer County Bank of Hebron, representing a group of Independent Community Banks in Nebraska, including: West Gate Bank-Lincoln, Bank of Lewellen, Pathway Bank-Cairo, McCook National Bank, Plattsmouth State Bank, State Bank of Bartley, Bruning State Bank, First Central Bank of McCook, Farmers State Bank of Wallace, Home State Bank-Louisville, American National Bank of Sidney, AmFirst-McCook, Farmers State Bank-Maywood, Bankers Bank of the West-Lincoln and Thayer County Bank-Hebron.
The hospital will contribute the remaining $2.73 million needed.
The ceremonial groundbreaking begins a hospital construction project which will expand the facility to 98,000 square feet. Phase 1 is a 14-month project constructing a new 25-bed acute patient wing housing five nursing support areas, two labor-delivery-recovery rooms, a waiting area and nursing on the west side of Community Hospital, and two isolation/hospice respite rooms and a healing garden on the southern end.
Following a two-month transition to demolish the patient pods and build a connector from the current hospital to the new patient wind, Phase 2, an additional 14-month project, begins. This phase consists of 26,000 square feet of new space. It includes construction of a new surgery wing as well as outpatient spaces for observation rooms and patients receiving pain medications and chemotherapy. It also includes a new pharmacy area and a large community and staff meeting room for wellness programs such as diabetic education and 55PLUS.
Hospital improvements totaling $13.4 million have been completed over the last 20 years to accommodate the health care needs of the area. Rural Development has participated in several of these hospital projects through a combined total of $5 million in loan assistance.
Community Hospital is a Critical Access Hospital that provides acute inpatient and outpatient care, skilled nursing, emergency medicine, surgery, obstetrics and delivery, diagnostic facilities, a pharmacy and rehabilitation services. The hospital offers two rural health clinics, an outpatient services center, home health and hospice programs, visiting specialists, sleep study and orthopedic clinics. The hospital serves the 11,500 residents of Red Willow County as well as residents of Frontier, Furnas, Hayes and Hitchcock counties in Nebraska; and Cheyenne, Decatur and Rawlins counties of Kansas.