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USDA Rural Development Announces $47 Million Community Facilities Loan to Fund New Hospital in Harrison County

Name
Antonia Varner
City
Columbia
Release Date

COLUMBIA, MO., February 8, 2022 – U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Missouri State Director Kyle Wilkens today announced that the Department is awarding a $47 million loan through Community Facilities Loan & Grant Program to Harrison County Community Hospital District in Bethany, Missouri.  “Here at Rural Development, we utilize Community Facilities Loan and Grant Program to ensure rural communities in Missouri can offer dependable healthcare. Access to local quality healthcare is vital to Rural Missouri communities.” Director Wilkens stated, “We strive to assist rural Missouri whether it is healthcare, food pantry, or a new fire truck.  The CF Loan and Grant Program is available to develop essential community facilities in rural areas.”

This Rural Development investment will be used to construct a new hospital for the Harrison County Community Hospital District in Bethany, Missouri. The new facility will replace the existing hospital with 76,000 square-foot critical access hospital with a 14-bed acute care and swing-bed unit.  There will be 10 private patient rooms, including one patient isolation room and two semi-private rooms. The emergency department will include two trauma/isolation rooms, three exam rooms, and triage rooms complimenting the emergency department.  A 7,500 square-foot maintenance and storage building will be constructed as well. The new hospital will ensure the district is able to provide world class healthcare services to the community.

Background: Community Facilities Direct Loan & Grant Program

This program provides affordable funding to develop essential community facilities in rural areas. An essential community facility is defined as a facility that provides an essential service to the local community for the orderly development of the community in a primarily rural area, and does not include private, commercial, or business undertakings.

To learn more about investment resources for rural areas, visit www.rd.usda.gov or contact the nearest USDA Rural Development Missouri office.

USDA Rural Development provides loans and grants to help expand economic opportunities, create jobs, and improve the quality of life for millions of Americans in rural areas. This assistance supports infrastructure improvements; business development; housing; community facilities such as schools, public safety, and health care; and high-speed internet access in rural, tribal, and high-poverty areas. For more information, visit www.rd.usda.gov.

USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. In the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to safe, healthy and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate-smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean-energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To learn more, visit www.usda.gov.

Contact USDA Rural Development

Information on programs available through USDA Rural Development is available by visiting www.rd.usda.gov/mo, by calling (573) 876-0976, or by emailing RDMissouri@usda.gov.

USDA Rural Development has 25 offices across the state to serve the 2.2 million residents living in rural Missouri. Office locations include a state office in Columbia, along with local offices in Butler, Charleston, Chillicothe, Clinton, Dexter, Eldon, Farmington, Higginsville, Houston, Kennett, Kirksville, Maryville, Mexico, Moberly, Neosho, New London, Poplar Bluff, Richmond, Rolla, Sedalia, Springfield, St. Joseph, Troy, and West Plains.

If you’d like to subscribe to Missouri USDA Rural Development updates, visit our GovDelivery subscriber page.

 

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USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.