Rock Rapids, Iowa — Construction continues on the new $28 million hospital and clinic building in Rock Rapids.
We had a chance to get a construction update from general contractor Journey Construction’s job superintendent, Kevin Brockmueller. He tells us what has been going on the past few days.
He says construction is right on schedule, if not a little ahead at this time. He tells us what is planned in the next few months.
Brockmueller says landscaping will be done at the end of the fall of this year. He says they’re still on schedule to have the facility completed in early 2019.
The current local hospital owned by the Merrill Pioneer Community Hospital (MPCH) board of trustees is leased to Sanford Health and operates as Sanford Rock Rapids. Avera will assume the lease in 2019. It is not known what will be done with the current hospital and clinic building. Hospital board president James Vander Woude says they’re not sure if it will be possible to remodel the facility into some other type of building, so it may have to be demolished, but that decision has not yet been made.
Vander Woude says the George Clinic will be operated by Avera when the new lease becomes effective. MPCH owns the George clinic and it is part of the new Avera lease. He says he does not know what the fate of the Sanford Fitness Center will be. That facility opened several years ago in a portion of the old Central Lyon High School — now called the Central Lyon Activities Center. He says that currently, Sanford Health has a lease with Central Lyon Schools.
Meanwhile, Sanford Health will be breaking ground on a new clinic in northwest Rock Rapids on Friday, March 23rd.
