A History of Service
Grundy County Memorial Hospital (GCMH) opened its doors in July, 1952 as a Veterans Memorial Hospital. It was the culmination of hard work by local physician Dr. Henry Mol and other community leaders who felt the area needed local hospital services in a permanent location.
1952
Grundy County Memorial Hospital opened as a 38-bed full service hospital on July 1. An independent Board of Commissioners, appointed by the county board of supervisors, is responsible for the hospital management and operations.
1967
Grundy County voters approved a $750,000 bond issue to modernize the hospital and add a long term care unit for area senior citizens.
1971
An Open House and formal dedication introduced the renovated hospital space and new long term care unit to the area.
1993
Rural health care providers are suffering financially. The hospital benefited from the foresight of the county Board of Supervisors who pledged a financial subsidy to help with the hospital's operating deficit. A bond referendum was passed to help offset the hospital's debt.
2000
The hospital affiliated with Allen Hospital in Waterloo and reduced costs through joint purchasing and sharing of resources.
2000
The hospital successfully applied for critical access status under the Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Program, which allows the hospital to receive full Medicare reimbursement rates for services provided to Medicare patients. This designation improved the hospital's finances dramatically.
2004
The first Touch a Life capital campaign was launched to finance physical plant modernization and expansion of outpatient service areas of the hospital.
2009
The second Touch a Life capital campaign financed a new inpatient area and Emergency Department, which opened in June, 2010. A remodeled surgery area opened in March 2011.
2012
Grundy County Memorial Hospital celebrates sixty years as a community hospital.
2013
The Emergency Department is awarded the Beacon of Excellence Award, as one of the top 3 Emergency departments from among 1,600 hospitals nationwide. The recognition comes through Press Ganey, the health care consulting firm that measure Patient Satisfaction.
Through its affiliation with Allen Hospital in Waterloo, Grundy County Memorial Hospital is an affiliate of UnityPoint Health, whose name changed from the former Iowa Health System in April, 2013. UnityPoint Health is one of the nation's largest and most integrated health systems, including 29 hospitals in rural and urban communities in Iowa, Wisconsin, and Illinois, and more than 280 physician clinics. GCMH adopted the new UnityPoint Health logo as part of the hospital's corporate identity.
2015
Jennifer Havens is named CEO /Director of Nursing, after serving 7 years as the hospital's Chief Clinical Officer.
2016
The hospital announces its Phase III Project to finish the hospital improvement project that began in 2003-4. The original hospital's 2nd floor, constructed in 1952, will be renovated to hold all administrative and support staff offices. The Specialty Clinics, constructed in 2005, will be expanded to allow for more patient visits by medical specialists. The Registration area in the south lobby, first opened in 2005, will be re-designed for increased privacy. The GCMH Foundation has announced a $750,000 campaign to support the hospital's ambitious project, which finishes the three-phase renovation plan that hospital leadership first approved in 2002-2003.
2017
The culmination of an 18-month renovation project is unveiled at a ribbon cutting and public Open House in November. More than 350 guests tour the re-designed Outpatient Services lobby, expanded Specialty Clinic, new Radiology and Imaging Suite, and renovated second floor. The GCMH Foundation unveils the unique Legacy Wall, a tribute to the hospital's first 65 years and its legacy of providing local health care. The GCMH Foundation announces the successful conclusion of its fundraising campaign to support the final phase of the hospital's building plan.
2018
New GCMH President Adam Scherling, MHA is on the job in July, after serving close to seven years with UnityPoint - Waterloo, most recently as the Director of Operations, Specialty Services for the UnityPoint clinic region.
The hospital's leadership team honored employees with a special celebration to mark ten consecutive years of Patient Experience recognition at the national level. GCMH was awarded the Press Ganey Guardian of Excellence award for Outpatient services, which includes Lab, Radiology, Specialty Clinic, Surgery, and Therapy services. The Inpatient department also was awarded the 2018 Guardian of Excellence award. The recognition is based on the surveys that patients complete once they've received care and scores are benchmarked against hundreds of hospitals across the nation to single out those in the top 5% of all hospitals.