By JAMIE BUSEN
Herald-Whig Staff Writer
CARTHAGE, Ill. -- With hundreds from the community standing before him Saturday afternoon, John Dittmer emphasized that Carthage is not getting a new hospital. Rather, Memorial Hospital is getting a new facility.
"We are excited about this impact; this is a look to the future," said Dittmer, capital campaign chairman for the hospital.
Under sunny skies, officials broke ground for the $22 million facility just south of the Ill. 336 interchange. Construction is slated to be completed in the spring of 2009.
The original Memorial Hospital was built in 1949 and was named in honor of World War II veterans. Photos and newspaper clippings from that hospital's opening were displayed for those attending Saturday's ceremony.
Attendees sat in chairs under a white tent on the grounds of the future facility. The new 18-bed hospital will be on 88 acres. The hospital's board and administration had determined it would be more cost-effective to build a new facility rather than renovate the existing 25-bed hospital.
The $4 million capital campaign is well under way. Dittmer said the Super Committee formed had raised $1.8 million. Dina Schaller, who chairs the Employee Capital Committee, said it has raised $200,000 of its $500,000 goal. Funds will be borrowed for the remainder of the facility's costs and will also be paid for by the increase in Medicare reimbursements.
Carthage Mayor Jim Nightingale said the new facility was definitely "one of the positive things" in the wake of news that Methode Electronics, Hancock County's largest employer, would be eliminating about 450 jobs at the Carthage plant. The hospital is the county's second-largest employer with about 250 people. That includes the Hancock County Nursing Home, which is attached to the current hospital and plans to remain open there. Officials do not yet know what will become of the old facility.
Matt Dickinson, president of the Memorial Hospital board of directors, said it was "a great day for all residents of Hancock County" as they prepared to "meet healthcare needs for many decades to come."
"We are the people of Hancock County, you are the people of Hancock County and we are going to continue to take care of our own people," he said.
Sen. John Sullivan and Reps. Rich Myers and Phil Hare were slated to attend, but couldn't. They sent their well-wishes via Nightingale.
Ada Bair, CEO, said the hospital was growing rapidly in terms of the number of patients served and they were really looking forward to their new facility.
After thanking her family and support staff, Bair called the people who helped build the original hospital "visionaries."
"What a gift, what a legacy they left," she said. "They were committed ... and here we are today because they cared enough to leave something that could be enjoyed for years."
-- jbusen@whig.com/221-3385
