C.A. Dean hospital resumes capital campaign

GREENVILLE – A $2 million capital campaign that was suspended by Charles A. Dean Memorial Hospital three years ago because of the poor economic climate has been reactivated.

“We’ll be moving forward and we’ll be looking for community support,” Geno Murray, C.A. Dean chief executive officer, told Greenville selectmen Wednesday. He said the hospital was not seeking a financial commitment from the town; rather, it wanted the support of town officials.

Murray said hospital officials had realigned their priorities in the campaign to better meet the changing focus on health care in the state. He said hospital officials still intend to build a new medical office building, relocate the laboratory, expand radiology, perform surgical services upgrades and expand the emergency room.

“There’s not a lot of fluff in this plan – there’s nothing elaborate about this,” Murray explained.

The original plan called for the old hospital to be razed, but that plan has been scrapped. Instead, he said the 1917 historic hospital would be rehabilitated for administrative and patient support services.

The first phase of the plan includes constructing a single-story building at a cost of $800,000 to $1 million to house the primary care clinic and the family practice. The building will be constructed on the Pritham Avenue side of the hospital. Selectmen were told that the project would not begin until the money has been raised.

The need for a new facility to house the two services is evident because of the increase seen both in the clinic and the Northwoods Family Practice offices, according to Murray. He said the hospital had been losing $1.1 million in revenues a year but has since turned the corner because of the recruitment of new providers and specialists. The hospital has experienced a 58 percent growth in its primary care practices, he said. “We’ve stopped the arterial bleeding,” he said.

Hospital officials are meeting with those individuals and business owners who have pledged $950,000 in support since the campaign was first announced five years ago, according to Murray. He said those funds raised remain restricted to the campaign and may not be used for operational expenses. The hospital must now raise the additional $1 million needed for the $2 million project.

“It is imperative that as a Critical Access Hospital, we focus on primary care,” Murray said. “We really are a frontier organization.”

Toward that end, Town Manager John Simko said the hospital plays a big role in how the town wants to grow and diversify. There would be a faster out-migration of young people if there were no hospital in Greenville. “And for the hospital to be here, it needs to grow,” he said. Simko encouraged selectmen to sign a resolution at their next board meeting in support of the hospital project.

Murray estimated the worth of the hospital to the community at more than $12 million.