Late last month, Deputy Under Secretary for Rural Development Doug O’Brien visited Manning, Iowa, and participated in groundbreaking ceremonies for the new Manning Regional Healthcare Center. The new hospital, which will replace a facility that was built in 1927, is receiving a $21 million loan from USDA Rural Development.
“Rural residents must have access to the best available care, and this medical campus will provide decades of service to the residents of this region,” O’Brien said. “President Obama’s plan for rural America has brought about historic investments and resulted in stronger rural communities.”
When construction is completed, Manning Regional Healthcare Center’s new 17-bed critical access hospital will also include a physician clinic and recovery center that will provide substance abuse treatment services for up to16 patients in a partial residential setting.
Since President Obama took office, USDA Rural Development has provided more than $175 million in loans and grants to more than 20 rural health care facilities in Iowa, helping to make needed facility and equipment improvements. USDA funds have assisted with major hospital construction projects in rural Iowa communities such as Belmond, Denison, Oskaloosa, Guttenberg, Sumner, Clarinda, Jefferson, along with Manning and Sioux Center.
While in Iowa, Deputy Under Secretary O’Brien also announced that the USDA Rural Development mission area is awarding a nearly $2.5 million to five entities in the state through its Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant program to help with job-creation efforts.
Receiving funds as part of the announcement include Eastern Iowa Light & Power Cooperative, Orange City Municipal Electricity Utility, Rock Rapids Municipal Utilities, Harrison County Rural Electric Cooperative and Central Iowa Power Cooperative. Funds will be used for such things as the development of an industrial park, creating a revolving loan fund and helping construct a warehouse facility.
O’Brien said that the Obama Administration is committed to ensuring that rural communities are economically vibrant and successful in their business-development and job-creation efforts and that under President Obama’s leadership USDA has made historic investments in rural America, helping our rural communities and sectors which impact the rural economy.
Further information on programs available through USDA Rural Development is available by visiting the agency’s web site.
