A True Partnership: Mercy Medical Clinic
Oftentimes the word partner is used loosely when professional service organizations are selling services. What does a true partnership look like? According to Dictionary.com, a partner is a person who takes part in an undertaking with another or others, especially in a business or company with shared risks and profits. Like a marriage, a good partnership can bring fulfillment, as well as a sense of security and common purpose. It enables partners to accomplish far greater things together than they could alone, as is the case with one of our newest clients, Mercy Medical Center.
Thursday, April 5th marked the official groundbreaking for the $4.2 million expansion of the Mercy Medical Center in Centerville. The clinic will include 26 exam rooms, 12 physician offices, three lab spaces, two procedure rooms, waiting rooms, nurses’ stations, an indoor healing garden and a connecting link to the existing hospital.
For years, Mercy has been in need of an updated medical clinic solution. They deliver high quality care, but their facilities no longer reflected this care model. The existing clinic facility is outdated and inefficient, the need for access to care is increasing and the necessity to recruit doctors, like in any rural healthcare setting, is a top priority. Mercy also wanted the new clinic to be directly connected to the existing hospital, to help efficiencies using shared services and most importantly, improve the experience for patients who need access to medical imaging and laboratory services.
Master Site Facility Plan
In 2016, Mercy completed an extensive Master Site Facility Plan for their Centerville campus. This Master Plan focused on their long term priorities and identified several areas that needed updating, the existing clinic space being identified as one of the top priorities. Russell, along with a third party Owner’s representative, aided Mercy in providing cost information through this planning process.
In the current environment, with likely changes in healthcare regulation and reimbursement, it became difficult for Mercy to secure the capital needed to make progress on their Master Plan. With no clear solution to the funding issue and the needs becoming no less critical, Mercy began to look at other options.
Finding a Solution
Russell, along with the third party Owner’s representative, proposed that we could provide a leaseback solution to Mercy Centerville that would allow them to meet their immediate needs with very little capital investment.
A leaseback is simply, the process of selling real estate while simultaneously entering into a long-term lease for the same real estate. Russell will lease the ground from Mercy and build the new clinic on it, which will then be owned by Russell. We will then lease the building back to Mercy for them to operate as if it were their own.
Because a lack of capital was the biggest obstacle Mercy had to overcome, the leaseback solution allowed the project to move forward.
One-Stop Shopping
Russell provided a formal proposal to Mercy Centerville in May 2017 and was selected in June 2017. It was a competitive process with three firms proposing. In the end, one of the main reasons Russell was selected was our in-house services that Mercy deemed necessary for project success, including:
- Development
- Real Estate Services
- Construction
We are excited to be partnering with Mercy Medical Center for the first time and look forward to a long-term relationship.
Are you an Owner or Facility Manager who wants to learn more about available building solutions? Please, give us a call. We have a depth of resources available to aid you in the process and we be honored to help you achieve your next project.
Contact us to learn more!
Caitlin Russell
4600 E. 53rd Street
Davenport, IA 52807
(563) 459-4600
crussell@russellco.com
Mercy Medical Center – Centerville is a not-for-profit, Catholic critical access hospital serving the Appanoose County area for 118 years. The hospital is dedicated to the mission and core values of Reverence, Integrity, Compassion and Excellence as they strive to provide a remarkable Mercy experience to patients, guests, colleagues and community; creating the best place to work and succeed. The hospital provides comprehensive inpatient and outpatient services as well as 14 specialist clinics. The hospital also operates a long term care unit, geriatric mental health service and medical clinic with primary care physicians and advanced registered nurse practitioners including Quick Care open seven days a week.
Click here to learn more: http://www.mercycenterville.org/
Daily Iowegian: Mercy breaks ground on major expansion
MMC officials announce $4.2 million clinic project