A Big, BIG Project

As many area residents know, there is a campaign to build a new hospital. There have been several public information sessions to keep citizens in the loop, providing time to ask questions and prevent misunderstandings.

There are project statistics on the website kimballhealth.org and handouts available for the asking. At the informational meetings, many of the statistics were presented. Some have been printed in previous issues of the Observer.

The panel during a recent informational meeting at Kimball County Transit Services consisted of the architect, Shane Labenz of CMBA Architects in Grand Island; Kerry Ferguson, community relations and Kimball Hospital Foundation; Troy Kurz, facilities director; Cassie Gasseling, CFO; Nicole Snyder, grants and community relations; Dr. James Broomfield, KHS medical director; and Ken Hunter, CEO. Some foundation board members were in attendance, as were 38 in-person citizens and 12 via Zoom.

This is not just a dream; it is a plan with a purpose. For many months, hospital staff and foundation staff have been researching the requirements of a modern hospital, the space needs for equipment; the needs of the community; the financials for the past, present and future; and the many steps involved to reach the goal.

The architect firm was contacted in 2018 and the floor plan was developed using feedback from the different departments that filled out surveys, viewed 500 hospital images, and considered ideas of the possibilities.

Aside from all the statistics, several issues were pointed out. First, the current building is 70 years old, and so is the infrastructure of the building. Officials said the plumbing, wiring, and much of the equipment is not up to code and worn out. It is hard, if not impossible, to find the parts to keep things working.

Patient privacy was discussed. This included the long corridor where patients walk to the various exam rooms, the lab, and the patient rooms, and other services in the facility. Another aspect that was brought to the public's attention is the lack of a code-compliant air filtration system to purify the air especially in patient rooms. An issue not generally thought about is the safety on the outside of the hospital being so close to the street with only a narrow sidewalk, where cars could crash into the building.

One of the questions asked was, "Why not just rehab the old hospital and not have another empty building"? Kruz said the hospital would have to be shut down for an extended period (possibly up to two years) to bring the electric, HVAC, plumbing, etc. up to code. The community would have not access to local health and emergency care for that period. And there is no room to expand at the current location to accommodate code-compliant rooms for the larger necessary equipment.

Revamping and utilizing the school building to become part of the new hospital means the hospital can continue providing health care, employment and income. Reconstruction in the school building includes keeping the existing rooms/walls and structures to use as non-clinical space. The hospital is currently licensed for 15 beds with six usable rooms. The new hospital would provide 10 rooms with 14 beds. Officials said the North Campus of the hospital is in good condition and it will save about $2 million dollars to renovate versus new build.

The project is still in the planning stages. A USDA loan, a major part of funding for the estimated $32 million project, is still pending.

Hospital staff say that there is little risk to taxpayers. According to Gasseling, as a critical access hospital, KHS is reimbursed by Medicare for costs incurred to treating Medicare patients, including allowable costs (depreciation and interest) related to building projects. They expect approximately 50% reimbursements for the project cost and "any bonds sold for financing will be paid back using hospital generated revenues".

Officials said positive aspects of a new hospital include: "cleanliness, professionalism, higher technology, increase of business 15% or more," attracting more staff who want to work in a new facility; providing more services; and greatly improving the look of downtown Kimball. The need to server a larger population also was mentioned.

"Kimball has a strong tradition of excellent medicine, including many physicians and Dr. A. H. Shamberg, "Hunter said. "This is extremely significant for the community." He added that he would hate to see what would happen to the community without a new facility.