NORTHWOOD, ND — Six years after planning began for an expansion and renovation project of Northwood Deaconess Health Center, ground was broken Tuesday, May 14. A crowd of staff, community members and others attended the event.
The importance of the project and the work of staff was mentioned by those in attendance, including Keith Groven, chair of the health center’s board of directors.
“It’s no secret that, along with a strong school and great businesses in town, that access to quality health care is a cornerstone to the vibrance of a community,” he said.
Several people spoke at the groundbreaking, including the health center’s CEO, Brock Sherva, and Erin Oban, state director of the US Department of Agriculture Rural Development. Though Sen. Kevin Cramer, RN.D., couldn’t attend, a letter from him was read, offering his congratulations. People posed with golden shovels over a pile of sand to commemorate the groundbreaking, and refreshments were served. Staff and visitors alike posed for photos to celebrate.
The project at Northwood Deaconess began in 2018 with master planning, Sherva said. The building had seen additions over the years, and some areas were dated. Eventually, he said, the staff decided “enough is enough” and it was time to renovate. The preferred model of health care has shifted from more inpatient to more outpatient care as patients have shorter stays; a newer facility would be able to better accommodate that trend, Sherva said.
“We’re seeing a drastic shift in health care,” he said. “Not so terribly long ago, the average length of stay for a long-term care resident was three years, and now it’s about 90 days. You’d have a knee replaced and you might be in the hospital for a week or two after that. Now, they have you up and walking that same day.”
Initial ideas for the renovation included downsizing skilled nursing beds, redoing hospital space for more outpatient therapy space, providing CT scans, redoing the emergency rooms, and building out new hospital rooms. Planning took a pause due to COVID-19, the effects of which also rapidly accelerated what health care delivery looks like and how it’s going to look going forward, Sherva said.
The pause gave staff time to look back over the master plan and make changes to what the center needed.
The finalized plan includes 16 new long-term care and senior living rooms, nine acute or transitional care rooms, new therapy and outpatient space, a redo of the two emergency room bays, and the construction of the bays’ own dedicated entrance and drop-off off. It will also see building out space for CT scans, renovating existing hospital rooms and creating space for a new procedure suite. While the renovation could open opportunities for more services, the focus is on creating more space, Sherva said.
Overall, the project should take 24 months to complete and cost $39.6 million. Funding came mostly from the US Department of Agriculture Rural Development, which gave the center a loan of $31 million. The Bank of North Dakota supplied $6 million to the project, and the center is covering the remaining costs. Both the planned cost and initial loan from the USDA have grown as time has progressed, Sherva said, due mostly to inflation and changes in the planned project.
Sherva said he couldn’t be more excited about the project and what it would do not just for Northwood, but for the surrounding area. Six years of waiting did cause some impatience, he said, but seeing reactions to the planning and support of the project has been enjoyable.
“I think it really does make sure that we are building to what our communities need and what our patients want,” he said. “It’s exciting to see it come to life, to hear the community’s excitement for it, to see our staff’s eyes light up when they start looking at the renderings.”
Pete Antonson, CFO and previous CEO of the health center, has worked at the facility since 1983 and began the project hoping to see it completed by the time he was retired. He said the renovations and expansion will make the facility more efficient and effective, make care better, will be a change for the better for everyone.
“You know if you’re not moving forward, the old saying is you’re going backwards,” he said.