Building the Future of Healthcare in Kearney County

At the heart of the project is a simple goal: allow more people to receive the care they need without leaving their community.

Preliminary plans include added clinic capacity, more inpatient beds, a larger emergency department, dedicated pre- and post-operative surgical space, additional specialty clinic rooms, expanded rehabilitation and physical therapy space, and permanent MRI capabilities. KCHS is also evaluating opportunities to expand hospital-based medicine, potentially including hospitalist coverage that could allow more patients to be cared for locally.

That matters when someone is sick. Every patient who can safely receive care in Minden is one less patient who may have to travel or be transferred away from their family, friends and support system.

A new facility would also build on the growth of specialty care already available at KCHS, including cardiology, general surgery, urology, orthopedics, ear, nose and throat care, and pain management. Additional space would provide opportunities to expand these services and potentially bring new specialties to Kearney County.

Most importantly, a modern facility would support the physicians, advanced practice providers, nurses, clinical staff and support personnel who care for our community every day.  We're excited to begiving an outstanding local healthcare team a facility designed to support the level of care they are capable of providing.

A local hospital does more than provide access to healthcare.  It also brings significant outside dollars into the local economy. About 93% of the cash KCHS collects for patient care comes from third-party payers, including Medicare, Medicaid and commercial insurance companies.

When healthcare services are available locally, more of those dollars stay in Kearney County. When patients have to leave the community for care, the Medicare, Medicaid and insurance dollars associated with that care go to healthcare organizations in other communities.

Keeping more care local allows those resources to be reinvested here.  We're proud to be supporting local jobs and businesses and helping fund the staff, equipment, technology and infrastructure needed to provide high-quality healthcare in rural Nebraska.

It creates an important cycle: provide more care locally, bring more outside healthcare dollars into the community, and reinvest those resources into providing even better care locally. A new hospital is an investment in keeping that cycle strong for decades to come.

KCHS leadership and its Board of Trustees recognize that a project of this magnitude must make sense financially. That is why determining the final project cost is part of the process.  It's not a decision that has already been made.

KCHS is currently evaluating project scope, construction costs, financing alternatives and long-term financial feasibility to determine what the organization can responsibly afford. One financing option being evaluated is the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development Community Facilities Direct Loan Program. USDA has a long history of investing in essential infrastructure throughout rural America, including hospitals and other healthcare facilities.

The program can provide qualifying rural organizations access to long-term financing at interest rates established through USDA rather than traditional public-market financing. KCHS would be expected to contribute a portion of the project from its own operating reserves, obtain financing during construction, and ultimately transition the project to permanent long-term financing.

**Under the financing structure currently being evaluated, the new hospital would not require a local bond issue.**

KCHS’s ability to consider a project of this magnitude did not happen overnight. Over approximately the past decade, KCHS has worked to strengthen its operations, expand services, build financial reserves and position the organization for long-term sustainability.

That progress allows KCHS to explore an investment of this magnitude today, but it also reinforces the importance of proceeding carefully. The financial strength built over the past decade is a community asset that KCHS and its Board of Trustees are committed to protecting.

That is why the organization is evaluating not simply what it could build, but what it can responsibly afford while maintaining the financial stability necessary to provide healthcare in Kearney County for decades to come.

KCHS’s progress has been possible in partnership with Kearney County, which has provided tremendous support for local healthcare through both difficult periods and successful ones.

The hospital currently receives approximately $400,000 annually in property tax support from the County, representing less than 2% of KCHS’s annual operating budget. Those dollars help support KCHS’s mission as a public healthcare provider, including providing care to individuals who cannot afford to pay, offsetting uncollectible patient accounts, and supporting property and infrastructure needs.

For perspective, according to information provided by the Kearney County Courthouse, a home valued at $200,000 in Minden would have a total annual property tax bill of approximately $3,124, of which approximately $86 would support the hospital.

Residents may also see taxes associated with an existing hospital bond. That bond was approved in 2011 for a previous major hospital project and is scheduled to be fully retired in 2030. That existing bond is separate from the potential new hospital currently being evaluated. Under the financing structure being considered for the new facility, KCHS does not contemplate asking local taxpayers to approve a new bond issue to pay for its construction.

Instead, KCHS is evaluating how its own accumulated financial resources, future operating revenues and long-term financing can responsibly fund the project.

The County’s longstanding commitment remains an important part of maintaining access to healthcare locally, and KCHS is grateful for the support the County and its residents have provided for generations.

The USDA process provides something KCHS leadership believes is valuable beyond financing: another set of eyes.

USDA’s Community Facilities process requires extensive review before financing is approved, including evaluation of the project’s scope, architectural plans, costs, financial feasibility and KCHS’s ability to repay its debt. KCHS is currently in the preliminary stages of that process, including development of a Preliminary Architectural Report.

The process is intentionally rigorous and KCHS leadership and the Board see that independent review as a benefit. Before undertaking one of the largest investments in the organization’s history, KCHS wants the project challenged, analyzed and vetted.

USDA financing has been used for rural healthcare projects across Nebraska and the country and is an established avenue for communities investing in essential rural infrastructure.

The goal is not simply to determine whether KCHS can build a new hospital. The goal is to determine what KCHS can responsibly build, what the community needs, and what can be financially sustained for generations.

KCHS has a land purchase agreement in place for a potential 10-acre site south of the Minden golf course. The purchase is contingent upon a successful site survey, which is currently underway with Miller & Associates.

The location would provide more space than KCHS’s current campus and offer improved visibility and access from a main thoroughfare. While planning is still underway, the land purchase agreement represents an important step forward as KCHS continues to evaluate and plan for a potential new facility.
 

The potential project creates an opportunity that extends beyond healthcare. KCHS has been working in tandem with Kearney County as both organizations consider their long-term infrastructure needs.

If KCHS ultimately moves to a new campus, the existing hospital property would not simply become an empty building. The County is evaluating opportunities to repurpose portions of the campus for county infrastructure and services.

Those discussions remain ongoing, and decisions regarding specific future uses belong to the County. However, reusing existing infrastructure has the potential to extend the useful life of a community asset while avoiding or reducing future taxpayer costs.
 

There is still significant work ahead. A final project cost has not been established, financing has not been finalized, and architectural planning and financial feasibility work remain underway.

As part of Phase 1 planning, HFG Architecture developed a preliminary project timeline. Phase 1 is expected to wrap up in the fall of 2026, when project materials would be submitted to USDA for review and evaluation of project feasibility.

If the project receives USDA approval, moving into Phase 2 would then be considered by the KCHS Board of Trustees and ultimately the Kearney County Board of Commissioners.

If those approvals are obtained and the project proceeds according to the early timeline, a new facility could potentially open in 2029.

That date is an estimate—not a promise. KCHS intends to move deliberately through each stage of the process and keep the community informed as decisions are made.

KCHS did not arrive at the idea of a new facility overnight. Since 2020, the organization has been engaged in facility master planning to better understand the current campus, identify opportunities for improvement and evaluate options for meeting future healthcare needs.

That process has included evaluating both renovation and new construction. As planning progressed, it became increasingly clear that a major renovation of the existing campus could approach the cost of a new facility.

Renovating an operating hospital would also require construction to occur in phases over an extended period, creating significant disruption to patient care and hospital operations while potentially reducing revenue as areas of the facility are temporarily taken out of service.

Those realities led KCHS to more seriously evaluate whether starting with a clean slate could provide better long-term value—a facility designed specifically for modern healthcare and constructed with less disruption to existing operations.
 

No. A final project cost has not yet been established. Determining what KCHS can responsibly afford is an important part of the planning process—not a decision that has already been made.

KCHS is currently evaluating project scope, construction costs, financing alternatives and long-term financial feasibility. As planning progresses and more details are determined, KCHS will have a clearer picture of the potential project cost.

The goal is to develop a facility that meets the community’s healthcare needs while protecting the financial stability KCHS has worked to build for the future.
 

The potential site is currently home to several buildings used by Pioneer Village for storage. The Pioneer Village Foundation is actively working to clean up the property and liquidate the contents of those buildings.

Items are currently being sold through Adam Marshall Land & Auction, LLC as part of that process. This work will help prepare the property for its potential future use as the site of a new KCHS facility.
 

Minden Courier: KCHS Planning for the Future of Healthcare in Kearney County

Link to Minden Courier Article