Southwest Missouri hospital receives $63m for expansion
COLUMBIA, Mo., Sept 28, 2023 – USDA Rural Development Missouri State Director Kyle Wilkens announced today that the agency is investing $63 million through the Community Facilities Direct Loan Program to help expand and upgrade the Citizens Memorial Hospital District of Polk County. State Director Wilkens and staff were there today to witness their groundbreaking ceremony and celebrate the 41st anniversary of the hospital.
The hospital was originally opened for operation in September 1982 with funding from the USDA Farmers Home Administration, a predecessor to USDA Rural Development. This acute care hospital provides inpatient, outpatient, and emergency care services and ambulance and physician clinic services for Bolivar and the surrounding area.
“The hospitals in the rural community provide crucial health care services for their residents and also play a vital role in impacting overall economic growth and social well-being of its people,” Wilkens said. “The planned expansion of the hospital facility has been developing over the past several years with hospital leadership, board of directors, and the community. Their dedication and commitment to support this project made today possible, and USDA Rural Development is proud to be part of this grand occasion.”
The Rural Development investment will be used to renovate and expand Bolivar’s main Citizens Memorial Hospital (CMH) building. The facility was originally constructed in the 1980s and expanded in the 1990s and early 2000s. The Emergency Department (ED), Surgical Unit, and Intensive and Progressive Care Units (ICU and PCU) occasionally have issues properly accommodating the needs of the public due to age, condition, size, number of rooms, lack of updated ventilation, and the need to provide various new levels of patient containment. As such, these departments are being pushed beyond their expected capabilities/capacities to meet the current patient demands. The project includes several upgrades and additions to hospital facilities, expected to be 124,750 square feet (including 102,500 square feet of expansion and 22,250 square feet of renovation) when finished.
Planned improvements include:
- Medical/Surgical: Transitioning all rooms from semi-private to private, increasing pediatric rooms from one to six, and increasing ICU beds from eight to twelve.
- Surgery: Adding a third operating room and shell of a room that could house a fourth operating room in the future.
- Emergency Room: Increasing beds from twelve to twenty-one and adding of a six-bed unit designed specifically for behavioral health patients.
- Cardiac Cath: Constructing two cardiac catheter units and replacing the current modular unit to support planned growth in cardiology department.
- Laboratory: Consolidating off-site location due to growth in tests performed in recent years.
- Cafeteria and Dietary: Expanding for improved experience for patients and visitors.
- Facilities: Upgrades to ventilation, filtration, air handling, boilers, chillers, water heaters, medical vacuum pumps, and fire alarms.
When complete, Citizens Memorial Hospital District of Polk County, Missouri will be better able to serve the more than 136,000 residents in its eight-county service area.
Under the Biden-Harris Administration, Rural Development provides loans and grants to help expand economic opportunities, create jobs, and improve the quality of life for millions of Americans in rural areas. This assistance supports infrastructure improvements; business development; housing; community facilities such as schools, public safety, and health care; and high-speed internet access in rural, Tribal, and high-poverty areas.