UnityPoint raises $4.1 million to renovate obstetrics unit

GRINNELL — After a 2.5-year effort, UnityPoint Health — Grinnell Regional Medical Center Foundation completed its Delivering Our Future capital campaign for the expansion and renovation of GRMC’s obstetrics unit.

Funding for the $4.1 million project came from a variety of sources: federal and state grants, donations and pledges from local businesses and community members and spendable distributions from the GRMC Endowment as directed by the GRMC Foundation board of directors.

This project is essential to the continuation of the maternity services provided in GRMC’s hospital and clinics. With a fourth labor, delivery, recovery and postpartum room, existing rooms right-sized and a redesign of the unit to increase efficiencies, GRMC will be well-positioned to welcome up to 400 new babies annually after the project is completed.

“The GRMC Foundation is very grateful to the 282 donors in our region (which includes more than 60 UnityPoint Health — Grinnell team members) who together donated more than $930,000 for this vital project,” said Donna Fischer, director of development.

“Their commitment to ensuring that GRMC can deliver an increasing number of babies close to home is inspiring,” said Fischer. “In particular, I salute Echo and the late Larry Jansen for catching the vision before the campaign even began and committed the first $50,000 toward our goal.

“I also extend heartfelt thanks to the following longtime supporters: the estate of F. Addison Jones, F. Austin and Kim Jones and Grinnell State Bank for their combined commitment of $50,000 as well as Grinnell College and Grinnell Mutual for their donations of $100,000 each. And a special note of thanks to the very generous anonymous donor who contributed more than $200,000 to the campaign.”

The Delivering Our Future campaign began in June 2023 with an initial goal of $2.5 million. The decision to expand and renovate the OB project was born out of the GRMC board of directors’ decision to continue providing and growing this vital service to our region.

“I’m grateful to the GRMC board of directors for their vision and to the community members, local businesses and area legislators who have supported it,” said David-Paul Cavazos, UnityPoint Health — Grinnell president.

“GRMC is proud to be able to increase our maternal health services to the families in this region thanks to the support of people and organizations in our communities. They are truly a part of creating something very special here at GRMC that will benefit generations to come.”

Pregnant women living in rural Iowa face unprecedented barriers to maternity care. As of November 2025, 62% of rural Iowa hospitals no longer have an OB unit, leaving only 35 rural hospitals still providing OB care.

In addition, 33% of counties in Iowa have no OB providers and no facilities offering delivery care, leaving women driving an average of 30 minutes to a birthing hospital.

GRMC is the only hospital with a labor and delivery unit in Poweshiek, Marshall, Iowa, Jasper and Tama counties. In 2020, 155 babies were born at GRMC, and that number has steadily increased each year since, with 326 babies born at GRMC in 2025 — a 31% increase over the previous year and a 116.7% increase from 2020.

Phase I of the obstetrics unit expansion and renovation project is nearly complete, providing a newly extended entrance to the unit and a new postpartum/recovery room and clean supply room. The next phase is anticipated to begin in early 2026 and subsequent phases will begin as each preceding phase reaches completion. GRMC anticipates completing all construction in 2027.

Once all phases of the project are completed, the GRMC Foundation will schedule a ribbon cutting and donor recognition ceremony. Follow the progress of the construction online at uph.link/DeliveringOurFuture or follow UnityPoint Health — Grinnell on Facebook for project updates.