A groundbreaking ceremony held today in the east central Iowa community of Marengo celebrated the beginning of a large expansion and renovation project at Marengo Memorial Hospital. The project, which will add approximately 20,000 square feet to the hospital and renovate 34,000 square feet of existing space, is using $22.6 million in direct loan funds from U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development.
“Access to quality healthcare is critical for rural Iowans and the communities in which they reside,” said Bill Menner, USDA Rural Development State Director in Iowa. “Helping leaders in communities such as Marengo identify ways to improve these opportunities for rural Iowans is an important emphasis at USDA Rural Development.”
The planned improvements at Marengo Memorial Hospital include such things as increased patient privacy, accommodation of modern medical equipment, improved flow and optimizing the use of hospital’s space.
The current facility opened 60 years ago and has gone through a series of expansions and renovations over the years. Marengo Memorial Hospital, which is owned by the City of Marengo, includes 25 beds, and offers emergency, outpatient, and short-term inpatient services. Hospital staff provide such servicing options as dialysis services, physical therapy, laboratory, radiology, emergency services and family medicine and the hospital is a designated trauma care facility.
Since 2009, USDA has supported nearly 100 rural hospitals, medical clinics, nursing homes and/or assisted living facilities to make needed facility and equipment improvements with around $400 million in funding.
USDA Rural Development’s funding continues to have a dramatic impact on rural communities across Iowa. Since 2009, USDA Rural Development has invested more than $4 billion on essential public facilities, small and emerging businesses, water and sewer systems, and housing opportunities for Iowa families.
This past year USDA Rural Development’s assistance in Iowa helped create or retain more than 1,000 jobs, aided 2,400 families in buying their own homes and assisted more than 60 communities as they made improvements to their facilities, services and infrastructure.
“We are proud to serve the needs of rural people and places to ensure that rural America continues to thrive and to drive the economy,” Menner added. “We are very happy to be a partner with all the communities we serve as they work hard to make investments that will impact many future generations.”
Contact USDA Rural Development
Residents, businesses and communities in Benton, Cedar, Clinton, Dubuque, Iowa, Jackson, Johnson, Jones, Linn and Scott Counties are served by the USDA Rural Development office in Tipton. For more information please call (563) 886-6006 ext. 4 or visit www.rd.usda.gov/ia.
USDA Rural Development has 11 offices across the state to serve the 1.7 million Iowans living in rural communities and areas. Office locations include a State Office in Des Moines, along with Area Offices in Albia, Atlantic, Humboldt, Indianola, Iowa Falls, Le Mars, Mount Pleasant, Storm Lake, Tipton and Waverly.
President Obama’s plan for rural America has produced historic investment in rural communities. Under the President’s leadership, these investments in housing, community facilities, businesses and infrastructure have strengthened America’s small towns and cities and helped improve the nation’s economy.