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The three clinics in Jamestown have been invited to co-locate next to the new hospital in a new medical office building. The adjacencies will create greater efficiencies for patients and medical staff. It will bring more services and improve recruiting for medical staff and other employees. The groundbreaking took place on November 11, 2009, Veteran's Day. Opening will be mid 2011. BWBR Architects, St. Paul, MN, have designed a state of the art hospital that allows for future expansion. Mortenson Construction, Minneapolis, MN. is the general contractor, guiding the many firms and their employees working on the site. Great attention is given to quality construction techniques and materials. This video was created by Danny Sim, BWBR. Click on the link below for a view of the progress that the teams are making. New Hospital Progress - Flickr Why A New Hospital Milestone Update, July 4, 2010
Why do we need a new hospital in Jamestown? The current facility does not meet the demands of today’s health care. It was designed in 1928 and after a delay caused by the depression, opened in 1935. At that time few people in the US knew about x-rays or that one day there would be CT Scans, nuclear medicine, ultrasound, digital mammography or any of the other commonly used diagnostic tools of today. The focus at the time of design was on in-patients. Due to improved procedures and technology, 70% of the care today is for out-patients. Health care calls for a healing environment with single rooms that offer privacy, safety and space for family visits. Along with many departments, lab, radiology and wellness are under spaced. New technology is limited by ceiling height, space and adjacencies. Maternal Health Care is five floors from surgery. Nurses can cover as much as five miles a day going from their station to patients rooms. Where will the new hospital be built?  The hospital operating board has exercised an option on a 50-acre open site on the southwest side of town. The site has adequate room for a new 100,000 square foot state-of-the-art critical access hospital, with an attached 50,000 square foot Medical Office Building which would house the three clinics, space for 500 cars, and future expansion. This location also allows for a heliport that will provide faster, more efficient transfer of patients to other facilities. This site offers easy access from all communities served by the Hospital. It is approximately ten minutes from downtown. Access from downtown Jamestown is either on 94 or along 17th St. SE to bypass 94. Transportation for those who do not drive to the new Medical Center from Jamestown proper is being studied. Why not remodel? The current building, although in good condition for its age, cannot be retrofitted to meet current standards and needs. The new facility requires room for expansion and parking for 500 cars if the clinics decide to re-locate. Remodeling the current facility would not meet today’s healthcare needs or allow for future expansion. Will taxes go up? No. The hospital is not supported by the community as a school is. There is no mill rate for hospital maintenance and improvement. However, wherever the new hospital is built, property values will go up, streets and infrastructure will be improved and adjacent property owners may see their property tax rise. How will the new facility be financed? The hospital is changing to a “Critical Access” designation for reimbursement purposes from Medicare. It does not change the care or services currently offered. The change will be worth approximately $700,000 a year in terms of paying for the new facility for the life of the construction loans. It will also change how Medicare and possibly Medicaid, reimburse the hospital for services. The hospital will be paid cost + 1% for patient services instead of a predetermined fee. Medicare guidelines call for a 35 mile distance from the closest hospital and a 25 admitted patient bed limit. Our inpatient census averages between thirteen and fourteen patients. Patients can stay as long as their care requires. We will continue to offer the same services with the opportunity to add more. As the number of patient contacts increase there is the option to return to the current reimbursement system, PPS (Prospective Payment System.) The balance of funding will come out of hospital reserves, long term loans and a hospital fund drive. A debt capacity was initiated and the financial consultants tell us with confidence that the hospital can afford an expenditure of $40 million dollars. Will the cost of health care in Jamestown go up? Jamestown has competitive rates for hospital services when compared to other hospitals. Building a new facility should have no direct impact on these rates. However, it must be pointed out that health care costs are influenced by national trends that are out of the control of individual facilities. What will happen to the current facility? The current building is one of the most recognizable structures in Jamestown. It has a connection to many residents and should be kept as a community asset. Senior housing, adult day care, child care and wellness center, are just some of the suggestions. The board’s commitment is to keep the building in its current good condition until it is time to turn it over to new owners. The new facility will open in 2011. The interim will be spent finding a suitable tenant and usage. We view this building as a community asset and encourage any suggestions for its future use. Will patient care improve? The care provided by current staff will not change. It is already at an exceptional level. What will improve is privacy, efficiency, timely delivery of information, safety, and infection control. Nurses, technologists, information services, housekeeping, in effect, all hospital staff, will be more efficient by not having to cover huge distances between their stations or offices and their destinations. Getting patients in and out of bathrooms will be easier and safer. New equipment that will not fit into the rooms, lab or radiology, will now be available. The current hospital/three clinic arrangement creates duplication of services and inefficient care delivery. The adjacent Medical Office Building will create greater convenience for patients and medical staff. It will bring more services and improve recruiting for medical staff and other employees. It will encourage new forms of co-operation between doctors and hospital staff. Will the new hosptial have a maternity department? Yes, the new hospital will continue to have a maternity department. Residents from Jamestown and surronding communities will be able to deliver their babies at the new facility in a state of the art birthing area. How many beds will the new hospital have? The new Jamestown Hospital will have 25 beds. This number is determined by the new financial designation from Medicare and Medicaid. The name given this designation is "Critical Access." As this is a financial designation improving the reimbursement for medicare and medicaid patients, no change in care will take place. All current services will be continued and new services will be attracted by the new medical campus. The current overnight patient census averages 14. Only once in the last year has the hospital reached a census of 25. How will the community benefit? The community will benefit from a state of the art facility that has the potential to draw new specialists. This will draw other businesses to support the influx of professional staff and patients. When would the new facility open? If ground is broken in the Summer of 2009, the Jamestown Medical Center would open by mid 2011. Summary The future of health care delivery in the Jamestown community depends on the success of this strategy. Many future problems are unforeseen and will have to be reacted to when they appear. What is clear is that if we do not prepare for the next fifty years now, the problems will be insurmountable. Marty Richman, CEO, says “The Jamestown Hospital building has served the community extremely well over the years. Thousands of children have been born here and thousands more have been cared for and comforted. It is our obligation to provide a modern facility that will enhance our ability to provide for those who enter our doors. The facility has been upgraded seven times since 1935, but it cannot be altered any further to provide space and infrastructure for new technology, quality nursing units, new services, and physician offices. It is time to go from our current care system to the collaborative facility of the 21st Century.” Harvey Huber, Board Chairman, says “The new hospital project will play a major role in establishing Jamestown as a place to live, work and raise a family. It will address the many changes in health care delivery that we face today.” |
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| 419 5th Street NE, Jamestown, North Dakota 58401, (701) 252-1050 | ||||||||||
