Outline Of Need:
Boulder City Hospital, Inc. is a non-profit located in the historic community of Boulder City, Nevada, home of Hoover Dam. The hospital was built in 1965 and moved to its current location in 1973. After years of service, the critical access hospital located at the foot of Lake Mead was in dire need of renovation and expansion to serve changing community needs.
How Rural Development Helped:
Rural Development approved a $13.8 million Community Facilities Direct Loan and the Rural Community Assistance Corporation (RCAC) provided a $2.4 million Community Facilities Guaranteed Loan. RCAC also partnered with two other non-profits to provide the interim construction loan. Next, RD realized that the challenges of accomplishing this large scale renovation left the hospital stretched for cash to accomplish a necessary transition to an Electronic Health Records (EHR) system that would assist with better patient care management and bring in a substantial reimbursement from the federal government. RD stepped forward to help and provided a second CF direct loan of $1.7 million to purchase EHR equipment and software.
The Results:
The hospital has been expanded by over 19,000 square feet and now includes 28 more beds, a state-of-the-art surgical center, expanded emergency department, a new 10-bed rehabilitation unit, and a new 10-bed geriatric psychiatric care unit. The new entrance is welcoming to the entire community and an expanded and updated Emergency Room stands ready to serve tourists, snowbirds, and residents alike. An estimated 200 jobs have been retained and 90 more have been created.
The hospital has been designed using the “Age in Place” concept where a patient can be provided the full range of services all in one location. The new facility will allow the residents of Boulder City to have almost all their medical needs provided locally.
The project has enabled the hospital to provide improved medical services to meet the changing needs of the community while improving the profitability of the hospital. The addition of an EHR system has added a technological leap into 21st century care to the project.