Just five years after completion of a new hospital and clinic, Sioux Center Health is continuing to meet the needs of the region by launching the “Growing Community” capital campaign. Senior living and care is the centerpiece of the effort.
“We have known for quite some time that as our community and region has grown that our available options for seniors have not kept pace,” said Cory Nelson, chief executive officer of Sioux Center Health. “It’s a good problem to have for our community. We’re growing so fast we need to expand the options so people can receive high-quality care close to home.”
Included in the $32 million project will be the addition of 32 new skilled nursing home beds; 40 new assisted living residences, of which 16 will be for memory care; and replacement of the senior living campus kitchen. “We want to provide the best opportunities for those individuals to remain in our community, in our faith-based service delivery system.”
Sioux Center Health’s senior living campus is about a mile south of the hospital and clinic and includes independent living, assisted living and nursing home care. The project will create a unified main entrance for the existing Crowne Pointe Independent & Assisted Living and the Royale Meadows Long-Term Care facility.
Nelson said, “We will be attaching to our existing service lines. Plus we’ll also create a central connecting point that we’re calling ‘main street’ because the growing community is really the entire focus our campaign and our project. We want to create a community within our senior living campus that helps those individuals thrive and that is welcoming to individuals coming into our community to visit.” Indoor and outdoor gathering places, a chapel, and a salon will all be added.
“We want to provide an opportunity for individuals as they age to move from different levels of care while retaining community. Right now, unfortunately, we have people in independent living or assisted living where they’re at the point where they need to move into nursing home care and we don’t have the available space for them. So they’re having to leave our community which disconnects them from their families, from their faith community, and all their support,” he said.
“Sometimes you have a husband and wife where one needs assisted living and one needs nursing care and, in this expanded campus, at least now they will be under the same roof even if not in the same room. They’ll be able to have connectivity and continue to spend time together doing the things they’ve loved for 50 or 60 years,” Nelson said.
The project will also include the expansion of the medical clinic and specialty clinic at the hospital. “With the growth of our community, we’ve added three new physicians in the last 18 months and those physicians are already reaching capacity,” he said. The clinic addition will provide space for seven additional healthcare providers and related support staff. Also funded will be a free-standing medical office building on the hospital campus.
Nelson joined Sioux Center Health about a year ago, moving to northwest Iowa from Nebraska. “One of the greatest reasons this opportunity was so appealing to me was the community and region itself. I grew up in a small town, in a farm family. Agriculture and rural life have been part of my blood. My grandfather and dad were farmers. Seeing a region like northwest Iowa that is thriving in a rural economy is almost unheard-of. Being able to do the work I love in a region that is innovative and supportive and growing was an incredible opportunity for me.
“The support of businesses and the church families is something you don’t find in other parts of the country. Having the anchors of manufacturing, financial, and retail all wrapped around by agricultural support really makes it a more economically vibrant area than a lot of others have. Everybody works together from all walks of life to make our entire region successful,” he said.
The project will be funded by a combination of financing. It is anticipated that USDA will provide the largest portion of funding and parity bonds from local banks will be utilized. Approximately $6 million needs to be raised from local donors.
“There are unique opportunities for donor engagement and support, especially in the main street area. What we really want to do is have something that our region and community are proud of. It really has the opportunity to become a legacy project for our region,” Nelson said. He anticipates design work will be done this fall followed by going to bid in January or February with construction starting in the spring. Construction should last about two years.