Rock Rapids, Iowa — Ground was broken this morning for a new 28 million dollar hospital to be built in Rock Rapids.
The current local hospital owned by the Merrill Pioneer Community Hospital board of trustees is leased to Sanford Health and operates as Sanford Rock Rapids. Hospital board president James Vander Woude says the board worked with both Sanford and Avera to come up with a plan for the future of healthcare in Rock Rapids, and the board thought that the Avera plan more closely aligned with the board’s vision, so Avera will assume the lease in 2019. But the current hospital, parts of which were built in the 1950’s needed updating and there was very little room to expand. So it was decided to construct a new hospital.
Vander Woude says the hospital had an option on land in far southwestern Rock Rapids in a new development called Forster Development. He says they could have used it as an investment or for a new facility. The hospital board is working with Avera Health and BWBR Architects.
Vander Woude says it’s a momentous occasion for the board and for Rock Rapids.
He says the finished hospital will be a 52,000 square foot full-service facility with both inpatient and outpatient beds. It will have an emergency department, surgery rooms, lab, imaging, and more.
In early July of this year, Vander Woude said the board needed to make a decision on whether to proceed with construction even before the fate of an 18 million dollar federal grant was known. He says they decided to proceed. He gives us an update.
He says the board is very optimistic about the federal funds, but he says the project will continue even if they are turned down for the grant.
He says if all goes well, the board and Avera Health hope to open the facility in February 2019. It will be located west of Highway 75 on South Tenth Avenue, which is planned to curve to the north. The hospital will be on the south side of South Tenth Avenue.
Meanwhile, Sanford Health, who has run the Rock Rapids operations for the last 25 years, has also put up a sign on a lot along Highway 9 West in Rock Rapids, which used to be home to a bait shop. Sanford also plans to open a new clinic at that location. Plans for the current hospital and clinic building and property are unknown at this time.
Click on these Facebook videos to see the groundbreaking ceremony
Video 1
Video 2
Video 3
