Rock Rapids, Iowa — A few days ago we told you that at the end of Sanford Health’s lease of the Rock Rapids hospital and clinics in 2019, that Avera Health will take over. We also told you that the hospital board and Avera are planning a new hospital and clinic in Rock Rapids.
Now Sanford Health, who has run the Rock Rapids operations for the last 25 years, has released information saying that they too will be building in Rock Rapids. Jesse Tischer, president of Sanford Health Network tells us more.
He says Sanford is in the preliminary stages and is not yet sure where the proposed new clinic will be built, but it will be a “technically advanced facility.” He says although Rock Rapids is a small community and the other new facility to be run by Avera will also have a clinic, he is not concerned about staffing issues.
Tischer says some of the differences between the Rock Rapids hospital board and Sanford had to do with how the field of rural health care is changing.
Sanford does have nearby hospitals in Luverne, Minnesota; and in Sheldon; as well as the Sanford University Medical Center in Sioux Falls.
He says Sanford plans on offering the same high-quality care that patients at Rock Rapids have come to expect at the current facility through the end of their lease in 2019, and in the future in their planned new clinic.
