With golden shovels in hand, dignitaries, hospital board members, staff and a Care Center resident get ready to break ground for the $24.5 million hospital/care center refurbishing and expansion project set to take place over the next two years. (L-R, front) Grand Marais Mayor Jay Arrowsmith DeCoux; Hospital Board Members Howard Abrahamson and Tom Spence; County Board Chair Heidi Doo-Kirk; Hospital Board Chair Kay Olson; USDA State Director Colleen Landkumar; Hospital Board Member Justin Mueller; Dr. Milan Schmidt; Board Member Sharon Bloomquist; Maintenance Director Rory Smith; and resident Bernice LeGarde. (L-R, back) AgStar representative Bob Madsen; Regional Outreach Director for Senator Amy Klobuchar, Ida Rukavina; IRRRB representative Chris Ismil; Shelly Peterson and Mike Knudson of Boldt.
Sunny skies and warm temperatures greeted 70 to 80 people who turned out for the Thursday, July 23 groundbreaking ceremony for the $24.5 million Cook County North Shore Hospital and Care Center renovation.
Bernice LeGarde of Grand Portage, a resident of the care center and the chair of the resident input group, put the first shovel in the dirt to break ground for the project.
Just before the ceremony began the hospital board and administration signed two U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) financial agreements. The first was a guaranteed component grant for $9,832,500 and the second was a community facility direct USDA loan in the amount of $13,825,000 at a 3.5 percent interest rate.
“We have also received a $350,000 grant from the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board (IRRRB) and our share of the project is $2,750,000,” said Hospital/Care Center Administrator Kimber Wraalstad.
Some of the people attending included Dr. Milan Schmidt and Dr. Sandy Stover, several members of the Cook County Board of Commissioners and the Grand Marais City Council, including Mayor Jay Arrowsmith-DeCoux, representatives from IRRRB, a representative from U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar’s office, officials from AgStar (who helped with procuring loans) and the hospital/care center’s construction agent, BOLDT, as well as staff with DSGW which designed the project. “The state director of the USDA, Colleen Landkumar was also on hand, as well as representatives of the Grand Marais State Bank and Security State Bank,” Wraalstad said.
Each of the attendees received an ice cream cone to celebrate the occasion and to honor July as National Ice Cream Cone Month.
“That was [Care Center Activities Director] Kay Rosenthal’s idea,” said Wraalstad.
The remodel and renovation of the 16-bed critical access hospital and 37-bed skilled nursing care center is intended to make rooms larger, nicer, and more efficient for nurses and doctors to work in. Changes will be made to the nursing station, ER, labs, dining room and kitchen, and staff offices. There will be upgrades in the heating and electrical systems as well as installing LED lighting throughout the facility. Public artwork will also be sought to help brighten the new halls and family waiting areas and a new front door entrance will simplify the current lack of one-entrance point into the facilities.
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