New Hospital in GI
Posted: Sun Jun 28, 2015 1:39 pm
http://www.theindependent.com/news/loca ... 2bdfe.html
A group of Grand Island doctors is planning to open a second hospital in the community, with Dr. Tom Werner saying an estimated timeline is that it will take at least two years to build a hospital and have it operational.
Werner discussed the plans for the new hospital with The Independent along with Dr. Molly Johnson, Dr. Ryan Crouch and Dr. Brant Luebbe.
“We want to restore local control to the community, provide benefits to the community and keep health care resources in the community,” said Johnson, citing the biggest reasons why local physicians want to open a second hospital.
She said physicians fear that because CHI Health St. Francis is part of a larger network, some of its financial success might be used to support another hospital in the network that is not as financially successful. Luebbe compared the situation to a retail store chain where money from highly profitable stores might be used to make sure a poorly performing store is kept open instead of closing.
Werner said Grand Island physicians are taking a different approach by forming a nonprofit that will have a local board making decisions about hospital operations.
A costly project
Luebbe said it likely will cost a million dollars per bed to build a new hospital. “It’s going to be expensive,” he said.
While no definite plans have been made, Werner said the new hospital could open with 40 to 50 beds.
Werner said the Grand Island physicians have looked at a number of potential sites for a hospital, with the majority of possible locations inside the city limits.
Saying there also may be a couple of sites to consider just outside the existing city limits, he gave no timetable for site selection.