Nearly seven years ago, Leadville, Colo.-based St. Vincent Health was on the verge of bankruptcy and closure, an experience many rural hospitals struggle with. In September, it opened its brand-new facility, CBS Denver reported Oct. 21.
"St. Vincent literally hit a point where there was two weeks' worth of funding left in the operation budget,'' CEO Brett Antczak told CBS Denver.
In the new 26,500-square-foot facility, the hospital was able to bring back dermatology, ophthalmology, home health and hospice.
There's also a new heated helipad, trauma rooms twice the size of the originals and rooms for inpatient care.
St. Vincent was able to build the facility through a $17 million loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, $4 million in private lending and a $535,000 grant from the Colorado Department of Local Affairs.
Although it was able to build the microhospital, St. Vincent still experienced challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to CBS Denver.
"We had several delays because of supply chain issues from a financial standpoint, we thought it was better for us to use our operation budget to pay for our equipment, to pay for our furniture, so we're not financing those pieces, and we are very grateful for our partners with the USDA and Colliers bank who helped to finance," Mr. Antczak told the station.