The Southwest Memorial Hospital building is turning 41 next year, and board members say it's showing its age.
The remedy? A "21st century" inpatient wing, estimated to cost $12 million, that would modernize the 25-bed acute care facility.
The Southwest Health Systems board of directors and the Montezuma County Hospital District are gearing up for a major fundraising and grant application campaign to make the new wing a reality.
Judy Schuenemeyer, chair of the Southwest Health System Board, told the Cortez City Council on Jan. 13 that the hospital is outdated and ill-sized for today's health care staff and patient needs.
"The building now is terribly inefficient," said Schuenemeyer. "A new wing would allow us to put things together for cross use of staff, more privacy for patients, and better security."
An inpatient wing also would also free-up space for the Southwest Memorial primary-care clinics scattered throughout Cortez. Once the new wing is built and inpatient services moved over, the plan would be to set up the clinics and offices into the newly freed-up space.
"Having the clinics together should be more convenient for patients and their families, especially when additional lab or radiology testing is needed," she said.
The consolidation effort would only affect two primary-care clinics and one walk-in clinic in Cortez - the busy Mancos primary-care clinic would remain in place - but it would free up roughly $91,000 annually that the hospital spends on lease payments.
"Many of the clinics' buildings are privately owned by physicians who are no longer in the community," she said.
The consolidation would also allow the hospital to leverage better private insurance and Medicare reimbursements, or payments made to providers for services rendered. Typically, larger health-care entities have more pull with negotiating higher reimbursement rates from insurers and the federal centers for Medicaid and Medicare.
Aside from the new wing, the construction budget also includes a garage for ambulances. The hospital has to keep the ambulances running 24 hours a day to ensure proper temperature levels for certain medicines and patient comfort, Schuenemeyer said. An "ambulance barn" would allow the vehicles some external climate control.
"We have hired a great number of doctors in last few years," said Schuenemeyer. "We have a need for one more primary-care physician, but we have nowhere to put them. We also have specialists, neurologists, nephrologists, that come in from Durango and Grand Junction once or twice a month, so people in our community don't have to drive to see a specialist, but we're running out of space to free up."
In a statement, interim CEO of Southwest Health Systems, Liz Sellers touted the hospital's dedication to quality and affirmed it will not be compromised as the hospital expands its footprint.
"Southwest Health System, Inc. has always successfully received accreditation for all healthcare required accrediting bodies, quality is our number one priority," said Sellers. "Our facility truly provides an incredible amount of services for a Critical Access Hospital (25 beds or less). We want to continue to offer these essential services and new construction will allow us expand our programs as we grow. The facility currently meets all safety standards and requirements by DNV, and the state of Colorado. We will continue to meet and exceed those standards."
Paying for the new wing, however, will be a challenge. The two boards are trying to minimize the total sum they would have to finance through a U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development loan. They are seeking grant funding from the Colorado Department of Labor and Agriculture next year and are embarking on a major public outreach campaign in the next few months in an attempt to raise funds via donations.
"We haven't really made any big public announcements so we could inform staff first, but the response so far has been positive," said Schuenemeyer. "We're hoping to start next year, but it's all going to depend on the funding."
