More Than Just a Building: Why Our Local Hospitals and Clinics Are Our Lifeline
- Category: Community Commitment
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National Hospital Week was first established as National Hospital Day on May 12, 1921. It was later expanded to a week-long event in 1953 and coincided with Florence Nightingale's birthday on May 12th, honoring her pivotal role in modern nursing.
Every year, nearly 6,000 hospitals across the nation celebrate National Hospital Week to recognize the important roles healthcare organizations play in our communities and most importantly, to celebrate the dedicated people who work at them.
Great River Health proudly stands with over 2,700 healthcare employees right here in Southeast Iowa.
What does it mean to have healthcare nearby?
Take a moment to consider what it means for our communities to have local healthcare. It’s not simply a building we visit when we’re unwell- it's the deep-seated peace of mind that comes from knowing expert medical help is readily available during a crisis. Consider this: a 2022 study revealed that in the U.S., patients travel an average of 8.0 miles and 17+ driving minutes just to reach emergency care. Can you think of a time when you or someone you love urgently needed medical attention? In those critical moments, the proximity of quality care is everything. And it's not just emergency care, it's the ease of accessing all the care we deserve – acute, preventative, maternal – with the comfort of being close to home and your loved ones during vulnerable times, without the added stress of long journeys.
The benefits of a strong local healthcare system extend beyond immediate medical needs; Great River Health is also a significant driver of our local economy, cultivating the vibrancy of our towns through meaningful employment, actively participating in partnerships, sponsorships, education, and volunteer initiatives to enhance the health and lives of community members.
A few examples of our recent community engagement and support in action include:
Paint-A-Thon: For the past decade, a dedicated group of our employees has come together for our bi-annual "Paint-A-Thon," a wonderful initiative focused on the beautification of homes within our communities. This hands-on effort directly improves the living spaces of our neighbors.
Foundation Gala: Our November 2024 Foundation Gala was a resounding success, bringing together community members and raising over $50,000 to support patients and families facing hardship. These vital funds specifically benefited a hospice family, healthcare scholarships, and the Foundation’s Patient Assistance and Cancer Care Funds.
Free Community Support and Education: We are proud to offer numerous free community support groups and educational programs led by our healthcare experts. These include valuable resources for bariatrics, diabetes, caregivers, grief support, and our Survivorship 101 program for patients battling cancer.
Supporting Future Healthcare Professionals: A cornerstone of our community investment is our partnership with Southeastern Community College. In late 2024, the Great River Health Foundation awarded over $280,000 in scholarships to 109 LPN students and 64 RN students, significantly easing their financial burden on their journey to becoming nurses. This is in addition to various other scholarships provided through our Southeast Iowa Regional Medical Center and Henry County Health Center Auxiliaries, as well as sponsorships and scholarships for Radiologic Technologists, nuclear medicine, and respiratory therapy students.
Senior Health Insurance Information Program (SHIIP): Our dedicated SHIIP volunteers provide invaluable assistance to hundreds of clients year-round, helping them prep for the Medicare open enrollment period, collectively saving them hundreds of thousands of dollars in healthcare expenses.
Community Partnerships and Fundraising: The Friends of Henry County Health Center, our Southeast Iowa Regional Medical Center Auxiliary, and our foundations are consistently engaged in impactful initiatives. Whether it's planning a 5K, sponsoring the rodeo stage in Fort Madison, or partnering with local businesses like Brown’s Shoe Fit to raise money for student scholarships.
Foundation Friday Grants: Our Foundation Friday program is made possible by our employee foundation fund, which offers bi-weekly grants ranging from $500 - $1,500 to local charities and non-profits that our employees choose.
Individual Employee Involvement: We are incredibly proud of the many Great River Health employees who dedicate their time and resources to a wide range of community organizations outside of their work here, demonstrating their commitment to the success of Southeast Iowa.
A Journey of Resilience
We remain focused on growing our positive impact within the community. The initiatives highlighted above illustrate the value of our decision to remain an independent health system, empowering us to prioritize our local needs and preserve our roots.
While we recognize that the integration of the Fort Madison and Mount Pleasant hospitals into Great River Health led to big changes, our approach values the unique local identity and impact of each hospital, ensuring that the roots cultivated here in Southeast Iowa continue to flourish independently.
Across the nation, numerous hospitals and clinics are urged to merge with larger entities, which are often not rooted in the local area. As a result, they lose the independence needed to directly address the unique healthcare needs of their communities. In contrast, Great River Health has strategically grown from its local roots over the past century, now encompassing three hospital campuses, six rural health clinics, five retail pharmacies, 30+ primary and specialty clinics, a hospice house, and a long-term care facility, all while retaining our regional focus and autonomy.
Across the United States, the pressure on localized and independent hospitals is immense. Rising operational costs, complex regulatory changes, and the negotiating power of large insurance companies often make it difficult for smaller, independent entities to thrive. We see news stories of rural hospitals closing their doors, leaving small towns without readily accessible care. This reality underscores the preciousness of what we have here.
The challenges facing independent healthcare are real, and we cannot take our local hospitals and clinics for granted.
Supporting local initiatives, advocating for continued independence, and recognizing their invaluable contributions are essential. We are fortunate to have this robust network of care right here in our backyard. Let us appreciate it, support it, and work to ensure its strength and longevity for generations to come. Our health and communities depend on it.
To Our People
The true strength of Great River Health lies within our people. Day and night, a dedicated team of professionals walks through our doors with a shared mission: to heal, to comfort, to care, and to make a difference.
For those in patient care: our talented providers, dedicated nurses, compassionate CNAs and medical assistants, our swift emergency responders, skilled therapists, knowledgeable pharmacy and lab teams, and every individual who offers comfort and healing – we thank you. You are the human touch, the faces that greet our patients, and often the lasting impression they carry of our health system. We recognize the demands of your work, and we deeply appreciate the professionalism and compassion you bring to it every single day.
The backbone of safe care is a clean and functional environment – for that, we thank our exceptional maintenance staff, environmental service workers, facilities crew, and buildings and grounds professionals. Your contributions are vital. Your commitment to functionality, sanitation standards, and maintaining the facilities is a direct line to the safety of our patients and staff. We are truly grateful for your dedication and the positive impact you have on our health system.
The directors of first impressions - our reception and scheduling teams- you are the crucial first point of contact for our patients. Your kindness during check-in provides immediate comfort. Thank you for the grace, kindness, and sensitivity you consistently demonstrate, ensuring that those who trust us for care receive the exceptional service they deserve from their very first interaction with us.
The personal touch at Great River Health is often provided by our wonderful volunteers. They dedicate their own precious time and their special gifts of compassion and kindness to brighten the patient's experience. From offering wayfinding assistance and patient visits to simply having a friendly face and a listening ear, our volunteers selflessly give themselves to provide solace and reassurance to patients and their families. We are profoundly grateful for your gift of time and the unique talents you so generously share with our patients and staff.
Behind the scenes, yet at the very forefront of our success is our administrative staff: finance, accounting, billing, IT, compliance, quality, marketing & communications, supply chain, and everyone who ensures the smooth operation of our hospital's business functions and for offering our staff and providers the essential resources they need to excel. Your efforts fuel our growth and allow us to better serve our community – thank you.
To our executive team and board of directors, your leadership is instrumental in making Great River Health a respected leader focused on improving the health of our communities.
And most importantly, we extend our deepest gratitude to you, our valued patients. Your trust and partnership are the cornerstone of everything we do. Thank you for allowing us to be a part of your healthcare journey.
The Road Ahead
In the latest health system-wide project, we are unifying our resources to implement Epic, an electronic health record system (EHR), replacing Oracle (Cerner).
This strategic move will enhance patient care through an improved MyChart portal, leading to better outcomes, care coordination, and population health management.
Operationally, Epic will bring increased efficiency, standardized processes, and data-driven insights. Furthermore, it will improve staff productivity and aid in attracting and retaining talent, given Epic's prevalence in medical education.
In a changing healthcare environment, our investment in Epic reaffirms our commitment to progress and to maintaining high-quality care for our community.
