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Crossing Rivers Health services, jobs and new facility growing significantly

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By Correne Martin

The growth of Crossing Rivers Health over the past year is evident in its expanding number of health care services, its fully-accommodating Prairie du Chien clinic, its newly-developed job positions, and its anticipation for future site development.

One year ago, on June 11, 2015, Crossing Rivers Health accomplished the incredible task of moving a medical center—nearly everything except the bricks and mortar. It was a three-day, precisely-orchestrated event, complete with a moving company, 1,500 totes and wire racks of supplies secured with shrink wrap, ambulances transporting patients and a staff command center directing all 340 employees on-deck.

“It happened without a hitch, really,” Chief Executive Officer Bill Sexton recalled last week. “There were some minor details, but everyone was excited about this new building that offers us a lot more opportunities than we had in the past.”

“We established as Prairie du Chien Memorial Hospital in 1957 and, even before that, we have had such a long history in Prairie du Chien. We never want to erase that image and all the good things that happened there,” Chief Development Officer Sasha Dull said. “But, one of the issues had to do with making sure our address was changed for all communications—including Google, 411, maps, etc. It took a lot longer to cover all those areas than we had anticipated. We appreciate the community being so responsive and cooperative as we worked through those things.”

Since the move, Crossing Rivers Health has added various specialty care services, such as cardiology; endocrinology; pelvic floor and urodynamics; ear, nose and throat; allergy, asthma and immunology; behavioral health; and, at the clinic, nurse midwife and other obstetrics services. The medical center has also created 48 entirely new job positions, for which, Sexton said, a greater number of people are applying.

“In some cases, we’ve had 50 people from all over apply for one job,” he stated. “They’re coming to us; they want to work here.”

Further evidence of the success Crossing Rivers has had in the last year is apparent in the fact that it’s not transferring as many patients to larger hospitals. The patients’ health care needs are being met more efficiently, locally.

Also, just as Crossing Rivers sought input from growing medical facilities that undertook new construction (like the hospital board did starting in 2011), other organizations are now looking to Crossing Rivers as a resource.

“When we started this journey, we looked to other organizations for direction. It’s nice for us to be seen as a leader in the industry,” Dull commented. “This building has also made things more efficient, which plays a really important role in a patient’s healing process.”

“We now have the building to match the quality employees and the awesome services we’re able to provide,” Sexton added. “What has surprised me is the amount of activity in our gift shop and the amount of people who come here just to eat in our cafeteria or stop by and use our salad bar for a fresh, nutritious meal. Not that we wish to compete with local restaurants, but we’re happy to provide another option for those who want it.”

As a result of these favorable outcomes, future site development is a current topic for the Crossing Rivers Health Board of Directors and administration.

Sexton asserted, “The plans for the current hospital were pretty darn accurate based on the services we were providing, but we could not forecast the growth we would see or the specific services our patients would need.”

Dull said the 25-bed, 137,000-square-foot medical center was built with a shelled space on its north end, intended for future growth, and there are already unannounced plans for filling that area.
At this time, the medical center and clinic take up 30 acres on the substantial site purchased by the organization several years ago. Sexton praised former board president Paul Ginkel for encouraging the board to obtain additional acres for expansion possibilities.

“Thanks to that foresight, we have 75 acres left,” he said, noting that the acres are currently rented for agricultural purposes. “We have a number of services located at other places in the community and we’d like to move them all here eventually.”

“We were thoughtful on the footprint of the building,” Dull stated. “We planned for growth as much as we could in the areas we could forecast, such as the ER and medical imaging.

In the immediate future, this summer, the employee parking lot behind the facility is one area slated for enlargement. Beyond that, no plans have been announced.

“We assess the health care needs of the region every three years and then develop a plan based on that assessment,” Dull said. “Of course, we’re always listening and speaking with our employees about what they’re hearing in the community.”

Reflecting upon the first year, Sexton is proud that, despite 73 rural hospital closures across the U.S. since 2010, Crossing Rivers Health is heading in an opposite and upward direction.

“The success we’ve seen over the past year is thrilling,” he continued.

“We want to pause and invite the community to come and celebrate at our First Anniversary Celebration, Saturday, June 25,” Dull said.

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