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Community Solutions

Community involvement extends beyond charitable donations and volunteer work. In order to arrive at the best solutions that make the largest impacts on the communities we serve, Russell partners with the brightest minds to offer our clients the most value from your first encounter. Instead of spending time seeking, soliciting and building a project team, you can actually spend your efforts working on a solution that meets the needs of both your organization and potentially the entire community.

Comprised of industry experts in the areas of strategic and operational effectiveness, financial analyses, funding mechanisms, comprehensive site and facility assessments, design and program management, we function as one entity to eliminate doubt and exhaust the full spectrum of possibility.

Community Solutions Case Study:


The Challenge: Jones Regional Medical Center (JRMC), a Critical Access Hospital in Anamosa, Iowa, knew that their 1960’s hospital needed major upgrade to continue to meet the challenges of today’s healthcare delivery. Having gone through a rigorous strategic planning process, they were made aware of areas of the hospital that were functionally inefficient and struggling financially, as well as areas which needed to be upgraded in order to meet the changing needs of the community. An exhaustive examination revealed that a replacement facility was the only logical alternative. St. Luke’s Hospital in Cedar Rapids, JRMC’s parent organization within the Iowa Health System, challenged JRMC to provide at least one third of the total capital required in order to go forward with plans for a replacement facility.

Community Partners: Community Care, Inc. (CCI), an agency that provides quality services to low income individuals with disabilities and mental illness across the state of Iowa, operated an existing residential care facility in the same community. Home to 30 residents and well over 100 years old, Edinburgh Manor was one of Iowa’s first county homes and required either extensive upgrades or total replacement in order to meet the residents’ needs. Unfortunately, up-front capital was not readily available and would require a major bond referendum approval from the taxpayers.

Jones County was another community partner based in Anamosa. Having outgrown their available space, they were investigating various alternatives to expand their Public Health and Administrative services operations.

The Plan: Acting as the developer, Russell started a plan in motion by first purchasing JRMC’s existing hospital campus for its appraised value. We then configured a lease-to-own agreement with both community partners to utilize this campus for CCI’s new residential care facility and expansion of Jones County’s Public Health and Administrative Services.

The Results: Jones Regional Medical Center could move forward with the construction of their new $12M facility because of their success in raising more than one third of the capital costs. St. Luke’s Hospital could adhere to their capital budget for this project while providing wonderful new opportunities for the community. CCI will be able to transfer their 30 residents from Edinburgh Manor into a vastly upgraded new home. Jones County will benefit by helping these residents while saving operating capital for their own services.

Financial Benefits: JRMC saved approximately $1.5M in total resource costs. CCI saved $2-$3M in construction expenditures. Jones County saved at least $500,000.

We solved multiple challenges for three clients through one comprehensive solution, and in the end the whole community benefited. It is no wonder that this solutions model was authored in a white paper and will be employed by Iowa Health System as they consider future projects for their affiliates.

To learn more about what opportunities could exist for your project plan, contact our Community Solutions Team.