Sidney welcomes new $53 million hospital

Sidney Regional Medical Center officially opened its new facility Tuesday afternoon with a packed house for its ribbon cutting and grand opening ceremony.

Several locals and community members, as well as USDA Rural Deputy Under Secretary for Rural Development Vernita Dore, and Maxine Moul, USDA Rural Development's State Director, attended the celebration of the new facility.

The facility was funded in part by $32 million in United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development direct loan funds and $10 million from Lancaster Pollard, which underwrote the commercial financing. The hospital contributed the remaining funds, and other funds were contributed from many local and regional banks. This is the largest Nebraska project in the history of Rural Development.

"USDA is committed to providing quality healthcare for rural residents," Dore said. "People in rural communities deserve access to modern medical facilities and top-notch healthcare providers, and this new facility will benefit patients in the southern panhandle and communities of Nebraska."

"Sidney has had its ups and downs, and this new facility will create new jobs and will help to sustain them and support more than 200 current jobs," Dore added. "That's huge. The big thing, the whole story is about people. You can talk about government and financing and structure, but it's about the people in communities. People make the communities, so we try to help them have the things that they need to have a beautiful community that will make them want to stay there."

"This hospital is critical to the sustainability of this entire community," Moul said. "Since the start of 2013, more rural hospitals have closed compared to the previous 10 years. We have 640 counties in the U.S. that don't have easy access to a hospital. For you to be able to just drive a few miles to a facility of this quality with the quality staff, is very very special. Because of this hospital, people will want to come here because they will have quick access to care that is top notch."

At the event, a very emotional SRMC CEO Jason Petik thanked everyone who contributed to making the new hospital come alive.

"I look around and see all of these people, and you all know that I talked to the directors four years ago about this big crazy idea that we needed a new building," Petik said. "And we did it. It wasn't for me, it was for everyone else. It was the directors, how hard everybody works to get something like this done, this is not easy. This project is an accumulation of community patient needs, and those needs come first. In the two main areas in which we were focusing on were to expand the outpatient services for healthcare and to provide a flexible platform to deliver those expanded services, and I believe we've accomplished that."

Petik added that the hospital's mission to revolutionize how healthcare is provided in the Panhandle is becoming a reality.

"The board of directors viewed this project as a way to secure healthcare going into the next 60 years for this community," he said. "As fast as our community changes and expands around us, we will be able to meet those challenges and changes. The way we provide patient care today is not how will provide patient care five years from now, and we need to be flexible enough to make those changes with it. The layout of this facility allows for us to be more flexible and change more rapidly to meet those growing needs."

The new hospital will serve approximately 12,000 residents and create 36 new jobs. The 120,000 square foot hospital is located on a 20-acre site on Greenwood Road in Sidney. The hospital is one story consisting of 76,800 square feet with a two-story clinic and administrative building of approximately 42,000 square feet. The two structures are joined by a one and half story lobby and public area. The new facility is designed to provide very similar services to the old facility. The long term care and assisted living component will remain at SRMC's original location.

The building will feature 25 private acute care rooms, as well as three high-tech surgical suites, either post surgery and outpatient recovery rooms, a six room emergency department, specialty clinics as well as diagnostic imaging. The focus of the SRMC project is to secure healthcare for the future, according to the needs of the community.

"We do need to remind ourselves that it's not about the building, it's not about the artwork, it's not about the equipment, it's about everybody that works here," Petik said. "Whatever position you are in in this organization, you're providing an outstanding patient experience for families and the patients, and that's what makes the difference. We are here for the community. We have a strong vibrant community."