KDSN RADIO News
RELEASE: Manning Regional Healthcare Center Announces $1.7 Million Capital Campaign
The Board and Senior Leadership Team at Manning Regional Healthcare Center (MRHC) are excited to launch a capital campaign to expand the Senior Life Solutions program space, upgrade the hospital pharmacy to meet regulations, and add a negative-pressure isolation room.
“Although the hospital is only seven years old, we must continue to evolve to meet the needs of current and future patients,” said Chief Executive Officer, Linn Block, RN, BSN, MHA. “This renovation project will allow us to serve numerous residents each year in west central Iowa and meet regulatory requirements.”
The capital campaign will fund a significant portion of the $1.7 million project recently approved by the MRHC Board of Directors.
“This is an incredible moment for our region and our community,” said Linn Block, CEO at MRHC. “The capital campaign is an investment in our current facility to continue to adapt and serve the needs of our patients. More importantly it demonstrates our commitment to providing care close to home for those facing anxiety and depression as well as a variety of infusions (including chemotherapy) and other medications.”
Senior Life Solutions
Senior Life Solutions is an intensive outpatient group therapy program designed to meet the unique needs of senior adults living with symptoms of age-related depression or anxiety, dealing with difficult life transitions, a recent health diagnosis, or the loss of a loved one. The program staff include a board-certified psychiatrist, licensed therapist, a director and registered nurse, and many other healthcare professionals within the hospital dedicated to the well-being of seniors in the community.
The Senior Life Solutions (SLS) program started at MRHC in 2017 and for the past five years has seen positive growth year after year. During the COVID-19 pandemic the program saw a 14% increase in services despite the fact that they couldn’t meet in person due to safety precautions.
“During the past twelve months, our program has had 188 referrals and served 64 area residents who are struggling with depression and anxiety,” said SLS program director, Janet Brus, RN. “We are grateful that everyone was able to get connected via telehealth. However, it’s time we get back together safely.”
Last month Psychiatric Medical Care (PMC) announced that the MRHC Senior Life Solutions team received the 2020 National Program of the Year Finalist for the second year in a row,” said Block. “That results in being in the top 10 Senior Life Solutions programs in the country. This is a testament to the quality of our program and the impact we are having locally.”
This project will include a dedicated group therapy meeting room with state-of-the-art audio-visual capabilities that allow for patients to join remotely. This community room may also be used for Recovery Center outpatient therapy and will be available to the public to use during non-business hours. Dedicated offices will be created for the therapist and psychiatrist to meet one-on-one with patients and an office for the director.
“We are excited to be able to finally offer this dedicated space to our Senior Life Solutions team and patients,” said Block. “For the past five years we have been moving them to various locations throughout the hospital trying to accommodate their space needs, privacy, and other hospital needs such as the respiratory clinic.”
Pharmacy and Patient Isolation Room
An additional project that will be included in this renovation is the expansion of the pharmacy within the hospital. “This is partly due to a regulatory requirement in place for mixing chemotherapy, infusions, and other hazardous materials,” said Jen Morris, PharmD. The expansion will provide a room with negative-pressure that improves the safety for staff who are mixing these medications. Additionally it will allow for more storage and dedicated cold storage space that new vaccines now require.
“Due to the demands of the pharmacy project, we were in need of modifying the HVAC systems to allow for the negative pressure requirements,” said Block. “Therefore, due to the proximity to the other renovation project and to maintain our licensure of 17 beds, we will be adding an additional patient isolation room that features negative pressure capabilities.”
This patient room will house two beds. In the event of another pandemic or concern for airborne disease spread, we will now be able to accommodate three patients at a time instead of one. “During the height of the pandemic, our staff became extremely creative in finding ways to keep patients and staff safe and limit the spread of COVID-19,” said Block. “This additional negative-pressure room would have made it much easier and safer to house multiple COVID-19 positive patients.”
Catalyst Gift
“Although we have been anticipating this project for the past 12-18 months, the catalyst that allowed us to move forward quickly was thanks in part to the generous Donald & Leana Kalkhoff estate,” said Block.
Leana passed away on June 2, 2020 and Donald on Nov. 26, 2020. Neither the hospital staff or administration realized the impact they had made on the Kalkhoff’s throughout their life. “It wasn’t until Jordan Janson with Edward Jones called us in late December and let us know of the Kalkhoff’s will to leave nearly $300,000 for the hospital,” noted Block. “We were beyond humbled to receive such an incredible gift. It’s a true testament to the care that all of our employees offer to each one of our patients.”
“I know Leana and Don were both seniors,” said Block. “I couldn’t say this is something that would have benefitted them, but I can’t imagine that they would not want to see this program continue to grow and thrive in this community. I think they would be proud to know it is impacting so many of their friends and family. I just wish we would have gotten a chance to thank them!”
Campaign Leadership
MRHC convened a campaign kick-off on Friday, March 12th with a team of staff and volunteer leaders who will be on the frontlines of the campaign. The team reviewed the overall project and discussed detailed fundraising plans. Campaign Co-Chairs are Virginia Rasmussen and Randy Behrens.
“We are thankful for this team of dedicated individuals, and their commitment to Manning Regional Healthcare Center. They will be contributing many hours to help make this renovation a reality – and we are honored to begin this journey together,” said Linn Block.
MRHC welcomes the support and participation in this campaign by the regional community, as well as individuals and businesses in neighboring counties. Public and private grant funding will be pursued, and in the next few months, MRHC staff and volunteers will reach out to individuals and businesses across the region to answer questions and discuss opportunities to donate.
For questions regarding this renovation and capital campaign, please call Linn Block at (712) 655-2072. To learn more about the Senior Life Solutions program, please call Janet Brus at (712) 655-8262.
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