DARLINGTON — Memorial Hospital of Lafayette County (MHLC) has completed the financing to build a new $55.5 million facility, which also will include space for behavioral health and mindfulness sessions.
The funds include a $30.87 million revenue bond and $15 million general obligation bond in direct loans from the USDA, and a $5 million guaranteed loan, all of which will be paid for by the proceeds of the hospital. In addition, MHLC was awarded a $1 million Emergency Rural Health Care Grant.
“The USDA has been wonderful to work with during this process and we are so thankful that such programs are available,” said Kathy Kuepers, MHLC CEO. “These funds ensure our community has access to quality health care for years to come.
As a critical access hospital, the current facility has served the greater community and provided a full range of acute care inpatient and outpatient services since 1952. Easily accessible access to quality health care will be the core of the design for the 75,000-square-foot replacement facility.
The construction manager is Kraus-Anderson and the architect is EUA Architects.
Construction on the new hospital is expected to begin in February of 2023 and completed by the summer of 2024. The current facility will be in operation during construction.
$4 Million Investment in Memorial Hospital of Lafayette County and Funding for Iowa County Food Pantry
On Tuesday, April 12, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin visited the new site of Memorial Hospital of Lafayette County in Darlington and the Iowa County Food Pantry in Dodgeville to highlight federal funding she worked to bring home to Wisconsin in legislation that has been signed into law by President Biden.
At the future site of Memorial Hospital of Lafayette County in Darlington, Senator Baldwin and local officials discussed the $4 million federal investment that she worked to secure to help build the new facility. With the old facility nearly 70 years old, the new hospital will be a 75,000 square-foot facility, including space for behavioral health and mindfulness sessions, and is expected to be completed by the summer of 2024.
Senator Baldwin also visited the Iowa County Food Pantry in Dodgeville, which is receiving $54,000 in federal funding that she worked to deliver to the Southwestern Wisconsin Community Action Program (SWCAP). With Iowa County Food Pantry facing structural issues due to storm water runoff occasionally flowing into the building and poor water drainage leading to asphalt pavement deterioration in the parking lots, the investment will help with construction and improvements to repave the parking lot for flood mitigation issues.
