Jackson County Regional Health Center: Rooted in your Future

Rooted in Your Health. Rooted in Your Future.

Look around. Technology has advanced almost before our eyes.

Health care is not an exception. There have been amazing, life-sustaining and life-changing advances in medical treatments, medical technology and medical architecture.

Quick Facts about JCRHC For more than 60 years, Jackson County Regional Health Center (JCRHC) has served the health needs of your family and your community with exceptional care. Now, with those technological advances in mind, your community hospital is looking 60 or more years into the future.

Hospitals are changing as technology changes. Today’s health centers are more efficient, technologically “wired,’’ less focused on patients in beds and much more focused on health services provided on an outpatient basis. Today’s new health centers are patient and family friendly.

Schematic Design Update

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Latest Updates About Jackson County Regional Health Center

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A New, Better Hospital for Jackson County

Curt Coleman

On March 27, the Jackson County Maquoketa Regional Health Center Board of Trustees voted 4-3 and approved the construction of a new medical facility on 25-acres green land on the south side of the city. Construction of the new facility will cost approximately $37.2 million and will take about 20 months to complete.

Construction at S. 17th St. and Timber Drive could begin as soon as early 2019.

The new Jackson County Regional Health Center maintains the hospital's commitment to serving the people of Jackson County while enhancing the level of care with the latest in technology.

“Jackson County Regional Health Center is your regional health center. We’ve been here for 66 years and plan to be here for many more to serve the needs of the region. To do that, we need to think about how best to physically serve those needs with a modern facility,’’ said Curt Coleman, administrator of Jackson County Regional Health Center.

Learn more about the new facility

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is the future of JCRHC?

A: JCRHC looks to continue its mission of service to the region by meeting the ever growing challenges facing hospitals today. The JCRHC Board of Trustees has identified two key strategies critical to our future:

Create a facility that reflects 21st century health care delivery.
Strengthen our affiliation to help us achieve higher quality at lower costs while improving patient access.

We are exploring both of these with the help of consultants and input from the people in the region who we serve. Health care, and especially where and how it is provided, is changing rapidly.

The image of hospitals is changing, hospitals are becoming health centers; care is more likely to be provided on an outpatient basis with less focus on inpatient care. Over 92 percent of JCRHC's revenue comes from outpatient care, yet we operate in a facility largely designed for inpatient care.

Q: What is the current condition of JCRHC?

A: Our hospital has served the region well for nearly 70 years but is now showing its age, especially compared to new, more efficient, technology adaptable health facilities. The original portion of the present facility was built in 1949. There were renovations and expansions in 1966, 1979, 2001 and 2004.

A recently completed total facility study noted that large portions of the facility are now in “poor condition’’ or “fair condition’’, which is due to age rather than lack of maintenance.

Q: How would new construction improve the care and services?

A: Today’s rural health centers focus heavily on outpatient care and with a holistic approach to health and wellness. Acute care beds are available when they are needed, but emergency services, outpatient diagnostics, surgery, and rehab services have shaped the facility's needs.

Our current facility was designed predominantly for inpatient care and cannot be cost effectively renovated to today’s standard of care delivery. Since the current facility is configured in “wings”, it lacks the flexibility to adapt to future needs. New construction would provide a “blank canvas” to create a health center matching the needs of the region now and in the future.

Q: What would the cost mean to taxpayers?

A: Through prudent financial management, the hospital Board of Trustees is well-positioned to fund a facility through a combination of cash reserves (up to an estimated $20 million by 2018) and debt financing (most likely tax exempt revenue bonds or revenue notes). Our goal would be to fund construction without reliance on a significant increase in property taxes.

County taxpayers do pay a hospital levy, but the levy tax rate has been stable or decreased in recent years. Over the past four years, the tax rate for the hospital has decreased: 1.095 (Fiscal Year 2014); 1.064 (FY15); 1.056 (FY16) and is at 1.041 so far in FY17.

Q: What is the economic impact of JCRHC?

A: The health center generates over $9 million in economic benefit annually according to the Iowa Hospital Association, which comes in the form of retail sales, jobs and tax revenues. With over 150 employees, JCRHC is the 5^th largest employer in Jackson County.