Blessing Health to close Keokuk hospital, clinic-based services will remain
KEOKUK — Blessing Health will close its Keokuk hospital Oct. 1, the health system announced Thursday.
Instead, Blessing Health will focus its resources in the region on clinic-based outpatient care, Blessing said in a press release.
“Demand for outpatient and specialty care is strong at the Blessing Health Keokuk Clinic," Kathy Hull, chief of small rural hospitals for Blessing Health, said in the press release. "That is where we will focus our energy and resources to help improve the health of this community.”
The decision to close the hospital was driven by low demand for inpatient and emergency room care, with the hospital averaging less than one emergency room patient per hour and fewer than two inpatients per day, as well as a recent architectural survey that revealed the hospital building required extensive renovation and replacement of decayed vital infrastructure, which could cost upwards of $20 million.
The hospital, meanwhile, had been losing about $750,000 per month, according to a report by the Pen City Current.
The hospital long has been in financial crisis, Blessing said.
In 2014, then-Gov. Terry Branstad signed the Iowa Apprenticeship and Job Training Act, giving the Iowa Finance Authority the ability to loan up to $5 million to Keokuk Area Hospital, effectively saving more than 360 jobs.
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"This bill really empowers the Keokuk Area Hospital to have future success," Branstad said at a signing re-enactment of the bill. "We changed some of the rules for the Iowa Finance Authority so they could put together a long-term loan and give you some breathing room to be able to pay back some of that short-term debt."
In 2016, UnityPoint Health became the sole corporate member of Keokuk Health Systems, a move meant to help ensure the long-term future of health care services in the Keokuk area by providing access to management, operational and infrastructure support. UnityPoint Health also took on financial responsibility for initial capital investments, ongoing capital needs and operating results.
In October 2020, UnityPoint Health and Blessing Health System began talks that eventually resulted in a member substitution that resulted in Blessing replacing UnityPoint as parent of Keokuk Area Hospital in March 2021.
Blessing subsequently set out to restructure the organization, enhancing the care available through the hospital's emergency room and expanding services with the addition of primary care, occupational medicine and other specialty services including orthopedics.
Despite those efforts, the hospital has been averaging fewer than two inpatient stays per day and less than one emergency room visit per hour, which Blessing leaders said does not support the investment required to operate the 49-bed hospital and emergency room.
“We did not want this to happen," Hull said. "This was not our plan.”
Blessing attributed the hospital's decreased inpatient use to changing habits among area residents, who the health system said are receiving inpatient care elsewhere.
Primary care, occupational medicine and other specialty services will continue — as well as the Blessing Be Well at Work program used by area employers — and Hull said more services could be added at the clinic if demand for outpatient care continues to grow.
“We are disappointed but undaunted,” Hull said. “When we re-established our presence in Keokuk last year, we said Blessing was committed to investing in Keokuk’s health care infrastructure to revitalize the community and the region to benefit everyone. Blessing has made an investment in the community and will continue to do so through outpatient care."
Blessing Health Keokuk’s 147 employees will be retained until Nov. 4 in a combination of either on-site work or on administrative leave.
Blessing Health Human Resources representatives will assist those interested and qualified to apply for other open positions in the health system. They will attempt to bring other employers to the Keokuk campus in the coming weeks for additional employment opportunities.
The hospital property will be put up for sale.
Area residents requiring emergency care after the hospital closes should call 911 so Lee County EMS can transport them to the nearest emergency department equipped to meet their medical need. Emergency care is available in Fort Madison and Burlington in Iowa, and in Carthage and Quincy in Illinois.
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Patients of Blessing Health Keokuk who need their medical records transferred can go to blessinghealth.org/medicalrecords or call (217) 223-8400, ext. 6600.
The announcement of the impending closure comes one week after ADM Milling announced that it will permanently close its Keokuk plant.
The city had been working with ADM to address the plant's wastewater pretreatment upsets and failures that have resulted in the city's wastewater treatment facility being in noncompliance of its discharge permit.
It is unclear how many employees will be impacted by that closure.
Community Health Centers of Southeastern Iowa, Inc. has services available to Keokuk residents
Community Health Centers of Southeastern Iowa, Inc. is accepting new patients in need of medical and dental services, CHC/SEIA said in a press release Friday.
Behavioral health services also are available to established patients.
Outpatient care also can be provided through CHC/SEIA's:
Keokuk Medical Clinic: (319) 524-5734,
Keokuk Dental Clinic: (319) 524-5734; and
Hamilton, Illinois, Medical Clinic: (217) 847-2112.
CHC/SEIA is a federally qualified health center with a mission to provide healthcare services to all individuals, especially those with barriers to care.
All insurance types are accepted and individuals without insurance can also be scheduled.
A sliding fee scale is available to qualifying patients.
CHC/SEIA is working to enhance its capacity to maintain and increase patient demand for its medical and dental clinics in Keokuk with ongoing recruitment efforts.
CHC/SEIA now provides outpatient care to more than 4,000 people in the Keokuk area, with services ranging from primary care, mental/behavioral health, dental, and specialty care services in pediatrics, women’s health, HIV treatment, hepatitis C treatment, and pain management.
While CHC/SEIA is not directly affiliated with Blessing Health, the respective organizations’ leadership efforts were focused on mutually recognizing the need to provide consistent healthcare services to the Keokuk area residents and community.
Michaele Niehaus covers business, development, environment and agriculture for The Hawk Eye. She can be reached at mniehaus@thehawkeye.com.
This article originally appeared on The Hawk Eye: Blessing Health will close Keokuk Hospital, keep clinic-based services
