Great River may operate Henry County Health Center

MT. PLEASANT - Great River Health may soon be taking over operations of Henry County Health Center.

At a board of trustees meeting on Tuesday, Curt Chase, an attorney for the health center, described the proposed partnership as a 'public-private collaboration,” between Henry County Health Center and the private, nonprofit hospital, Great River Medical Center, based in Burlington.

Under the new partnership, the Henry County Health Center's board of trustees would go from overseeing operations of the hospital directly to 'overseeing the lease of Great River to operate the hospital on [their] behalf.”

'It's basically outsourcing the operational component to Great River … the operating lease leases [Great River] the assets to operate the hospital,” Chase said.

The hospital trustees approved a memorandum of understanding at the meeting. The memorandum is not binding but would be the first step toward a formal lease agreement, which would be signed at the board's Dec. 15 meeting.

The agreement would then be put before Henry County voters in a special election on March 2, 2021.

The potential agreement would keep the same services the hospital currently provides locally for at least four years and retains the staff and their benefits as currently contracted. At this time, it is not anticipated there will be any position eliminations resulting from the agreement. The name of the hospital would remain the same, and Henry County Health Center Foundation funds would stay within the community.

Board Chairman Ken Severson said the health center continues to look for creative ways to provide quality care to rural residents and has been looking to formalize a partnership with Great River Health. Severson added the move is in response to 'key indicators” that are 'pointing to operational challenges in the future for all rural health hospitals.”

'This is an investment in our region. As a community-based health center, HCHC patients are oftentimes family members, friends and neighbors. As the landscape changes for rural health care across the country, it's important we maintain the trust and connection our hospital provides to Mount Pleasant and surrounding communities,” Severson said.

'This decision means continued, quality access to health care for everyone in the region - and a way for us to better manage anticipated challenges that lie ahead,” he added

Severson said Great River Health has already proven to be a great partner to the hospital by helping the facility retain its emergency medical services.

'Had GRH not stepped in to manage this situation with our county, we may have lost this service that provides emergency transport for approximately 1,900 requests each year. That's the kind of collaboration we can count on with this agreement,” Severson said.

Henry County Health Center CEO Robb Gardner added a partnership between the county hospital and Great River Health has existed for more than 10 years and expansion of the partnership would be beneficial for Henry County residents.

'This expanded relationship is a great opportunity to continue serving the health care needs of Henry County residents into the future,” Gardner said.