Economic Development Authority visits Grinnell hospital

GRINNELL — Iowa Economic Development Authority Director Debi Durham and Main Strett Iowa coordinator Michael Wagler toured Grinnell Regional Medical Center’s labor and deliver unit in February.

A $600,000 Housing and Urban Development Community Development Block Grant will help the hospital expand and remodel its labor and delivery unit.

The Community Facilities and Service fund was awarded to the City of Grinnell to help finance obstetrics department renovations to add a fourth labor, delivery, recovery and postpartum room as well as update existing rooms.

Joining the discussion and tour at Grinnell Regional Feb. 28 were Russ Behrens, Grinnell City Manager; Rachael Kinnick, Grinnell Area Chamber of Commerce president and chief executive officer, and Sarah Smith, Grinnell College director of outreach programing and events.

Pregnant women living in rural America face unprecedented barriers to maternity care, said Grinnell Regional in a news release.

More than 100 rural hospitals throughout the country have closed since 2010. Of those that remain, 20% are at risk of closing, and many are choosing to shut down their obstetrics units due to the growing shortages in workforce, low reimbursement and rising costs.

In Iowa, hospitals with obstetrics departments have decreased by nearly 30% since 2013, from 79 hospitals to only 56, the news release said.

Grinnell Regional is the only hospital with a labor and delivery unit in Poweshiek, Marshall, Iowa and Tama counties.

In 2023, 240 babies were born at Grinnell Regional, an increase from 210 babies in 2022, the hospital said.

The GRMC Foundation launched Delivering Our Future capital campaign in 2023 to raise funds for the project. Funding has surpassed $980,000 in awarded moneys, cash and pledges.