By Sara Strong
If all goes as Sioux Valley plans, Luverne could have a new hospital and clinic by the end of 2006, at a total cost of $17.8 million.
Administration from Sioux Valley Hospitals and Health System gave a formal presentation to the Luverne City Council Tuesday.
The Council will discuss the presentation — and what Sioux Valley is requesting — at later meetings.
As a part of the project, Sioux Valley requests that the city of Luverne purchase the existing hospital for $825,000. (The clinic is still being considered by the county for a possible purchase.) Sioux Valley also asks that Luverne grant it $1,657,000 and loan it $1 million.
Even though drawings and numbers are drafted, the project is still in its planning and development stages.
Sioux Valley has already announced it chose north of Luverne for the location. The property abuts the Veterans Addition to its south, Highway 75 on the west, Blue Mound Avenue on the east and the gravel township road on the north.
A combined clinic and hospital site is estimated to be 78,000 square feet, increased from the current 42,000.
Site preparation could start as early as September 2003.
The city of Luverne would have some sewer, water and electric work to do as well. Water pressure on the north edge of town is already an issue, so the city will have to account for that.
Actual construction could begin in the spring of 2004 and be complete late in 2006.
Why help a big system?
Greg Burger of the Rock County Economic Development Corporation, said people have questioned the need to help a health system as big as Sioux Valley, which presumably has deep pockets.
Burger said, "We ought to be more than willing to do that, in fact, we have to be willing to do our share."
Burger said that it’s important to remember that before Sioux Valley became a partner in Luverne’s health care system, the local hospital had no option of expanding services or space, and wasn’t turning a profit.
"Sioux Valley came up to the plate and effectively became a partner when it bought the hospital," Burger said.
Steve Perkins is chairman of the Hospital Board. He reminded the council of the Minnesota Veteran’s Home move to Luverne, when the city contributed more outright than it would for the new hospital and clinic project.
Perkins said, "What would happen if we didn’t? They’re still investing $13 million in the community — this kind of Christmas doesn’t come around very often."
Besides the initial investment of a new facility, Sioux Valley estimates hiring more employees, increasing payroll by $2 million.
Looking ahead
Jerry Carl, CEO of Luverne Community Hospital, said patients and physicians have noticed problems within the current facility for some time, mostly in lack of space and privacy.
The project would:
Include more space dedicated to outpatient services to reflect the trend in services.
Fix code issues such as heating, ventilation and air conditioning.
Make patient flow more efficient, keeping inpatient and outpatient services separate.
Improve patient confidentiality and privacy by increasing the number of private rooms and keeping outpatient traffic out of the inpatient areas. Rehab, for example, is spread over five locations in the current hospital.
Add a CT unit. Currently a mobile CAT scan comes to the hospital, limiting access for patients. Carl said, "We really need to have that for doctors, it’s an extremely important diagnostic tool."
More than double the number of clinic exam rooms and allow more space for specialists. The clinic space itself would increase by 7,000 square feet.
The ambulance station isn’t a part of the proposed move to the north of town. The space is adequate where it is and the crew favors the central location for good response times.
In the past, renovation was a serious consideration, but that would take an estimated five years and not add as much space or customer convenience as a new construction, Carl said.
A renovation of the current site would also limit future growth and could cause a loss of patients during renovation because of the inconvenience.
