Editor’s note: Morrison Community Hospital CEO Pam Pfister submitted this press release, which includes comments by Hospital Board Chairman Don Beswick. The Editor took the photographs on Thursday, December 5, 2024.
“It has been almost five years since we celebrated a groundbreaking for our Emergency Room/Medical Surgical addition. Today we celebrate our next bricks-and-mortar milestone to expand our Clinic services. When we start to navigate any project, there is always a feeling of anxiousness/excitement as we begin working through the details. It takes months of planning and design efforts. However, once we settled in with our Architectural and Engineering consultants from Farnsworth, things came together nicely, and it seemed almost seamless.
“Since the conception of our 2019 project, we have added great specialists: Dr. Abdul Foad, Orthopaedic; Dr. Thane Cody, Enterology in 2020; Dr. Robb Rydzynski, Urology/Gynecology; Dr. Ricky Maddox, General Surgeon in 2022. In January 2025, Dr. Vasan Purighalla, Neurosurgeon will join our team of specialists. He specializes in back and neck pain and has practiced in the Quad Cities for 20 years.
“In 2023, we took over operations of the Erie, IL, Clinic. This March Dr. Mark Woods and Ava Valdez joined our primary care team.
“An upcoming addition to our primary care is Dr. Trever Troutman. He was born and raised in Morrison and graduated from our local high school. Dr. Troutman attended the University of Chicago Medical School; he is currently in his final year of residency at Northwestern Medical Center.
“We have come full circle, with our beautiful hospital expansion and addition and our amazing of physicians. We have again advanced to another expansion project.
“The scale of the project will be a two-story addition, and the cost is approximately $14,000,000. Each story is approximately 11,000 square feet, which means we will double the size of our existing Clinic footprint. This addition will become the new home for our Primary Care and Walk-in Clinic providers, leaving the current 11,000 square feet for specialty services. The second story will connect to the Medical Surgical floor and remain an open canvas for future expansion needs. We anticipate completion of this project in early 2026.
“When I hosted the ground breaking event in 2019, we served approximately 4000 patients a month. Today we serve over double that volume. I looked at statistics over the past four years. I found that across the board, almost every service line increased their volumes by at least 40%. Some areas–such as the Specialty Clinic and Operating Room–increased by 80%!
“My hospital Administration and Board members are extremely proud to bring outstanding clinicians and services to our Hospital District and community. Our Hospital Board Chairman Don Beswick would like to add a few words.”
Beswick stated, “I would like to take this opportunity to thank and recognize our Architectural and Engineering firm, The Farnsworth group and our General Contractor PJ Hoerr. They welcomed our questions, and we had many! It has been a great pleasure working with the Farnsworth team.
“We have with us today City Administrator, Brian Melton; elected officials Mayor Scott Vandermyde, State Representative Tony McCombie, and Piper Grazuilis from State Representative Brad Fritts’ office. All of these individuals and our City Council have been exceptional advocates of the hospital.
“While we talk a great deal about infrastructure, the real platform is our Clinicians, Team Members, Hospital Board, and Foundation Members. We have a shared commitment to advancing healthcare access and to secure a positive legacy for our community. In this profession we absolutely know one thing is for certain: change is constant. There is never a crystal ball, and transformation can happen overnight. Our hospital team does a great job of taking a step back–and many times a deep breath—and, then we move forward.
“Let me share something with you. Adding new services and working through the details of a major project is a challenge in itself! Truly every department has buy-in. But add to that the build, the training, and that this weekend, we go live on a new Electronic Medical Record system. These projects are one of the most critical and complex changes for healthcare.
Each time we work through a project, I have come to appreciate the collaborative efforts from our team even more. But that’s why we are here, right? Adding new services and expansion projects wouldn’t be possible without a solid cultural foundation.”
CEO Pfister concluded, “Finally, we extend our thanks and appreciation of support to our patients and community members. We are excited to continue serving you and are honored that you have entrusted us with your healthcare needs.
“Thank you all for coming to help us celebrate. Now, let me say four of my favorite words: Let’s throw some dirt!”
Left-to-right are Mark Schuler (Hospital Board Member); Katie Coates-Selburg (Foundation Board); Amanda Cook, (Both Foundation and Hospital Board Member); front, Kelly Vegter, (Foundation Board); rear, Chris VanDerLeest, (Foundation Board); (Hospital Board members: Barb Kophamer; Janice Alksnis; Clinic Director George Georgiev, MD; Don Beswick, Chairman of the Hospital Board; CEO Pam Pfister; Mayor Scott Vandermyde; George Chamberlain (Hospital Board Member); Piper Grazulis of State Representative Brad Fritts’ office; Marketing Manager Mick Welding.