Ringgold County Hospital Visit
Larry Anderson ∙ March 4, 2011
While returning from a meeting of the Regional Policy Board of the American Hospital Association in Kansas City last week, I made a short side trip to Mount Ayr, Iowa, to visit the new Ringgold County Hospital. John Monson and I had attended the ground breaking there some three years ago and I was curious to see how that project had developed.
My intention was simply to take some outside photos of the building, but I stopped inside to identify myself and explain to hospital officials why a stranger was in the parking lot taking pictures. Teresa Roberts, Chief Financial Officer, met me and took me on a tour of the facility.
It was a thrill to see what the investments made by USDA Rural Development, Arbor One and the Farm Credit System partners had accomplished in this rural community. Ringgold County, along the Iowa – Missouri border, is not a wealthy county. The median household income in 2009 was $35,434 – well below the state average of $48,044. While I was there, the spacious waiting room was filled with area families waiting for medical treatment. The facility offers specialty medicine including dialysis, along with a modern clinic and emergency room, lab and X-ray surgical suite, helipad and ambulance service.
Agriculture is the largest area industry with nearly 20 percent of the county’s males working as farmers or farm managers – the Iowa average is five per cent. Twenty-seven per cent of the county females work in healthcare, about double the state average.
The new hospital and clinic replaced an older facility that needed major updates and had no available land for expansion. An official with the Iowa Hospital Association told me that the Ringgold County Hospital replacement was one of the most needed in the state.
The affection the CFO and other staff have for USDA Rural Development, Arbor One and investment partners was expressed over and over again. Staffers are proud of their building and the design that has resulted in enhanced patient care and operating efficiencies. They mentioned that leaders from other rural Iowa Critical Access Hospitals have visited their facility as they study future building needs.
The Mission Related Investments made by the Ringgold County Hospital developers and funding partners have provided hope and pride for this very rural community. It is a wonderful example of how good things happen when good people work together.