WILLMAR—Once upon a time, DuWayne Underthun and his wife, Betty, would have been making many snowy trips from their rural Willmar home to the CentraCare Heart and Vascular Center in St. Cloud for his congestive heart failure.
Instead, he now receives most of his care much closer to home through a newly launched heart failure telemedicine program at Rice Memorial Hospital.
An appointment last week, the day after a snowstorm pummeled the region and brought most travel to a standstill, reinforced
“A dynamic county with much to offer existing and prospective businesses” is the summary used by contributing writer Gina Stephens to describe the Willmar area in a six-page article featured in the September 2017 publication of Business in Focus magazine.
Providing a comprehensive view of North American business, the magazine offers monthly online and print editions that bring together the country’s top businesses and potential clients. Business in Focus is a national publication with
WILLMAR—Rice Memorial Hospital and Affiliated Community Medical Centers formally agreed to a letter of intent Wednesday night to join forces with CentraCare Health of St. Cloud.
It’s the first step toward forming a new corporation to collaboratively deliver health care in Willmar and the region.
Leaders of both organizations said the move will help preserve and enhance local health care in the face of accelerating change.
“As a board we know health care is changing rapidly,” said
WILLMAR—Ground was officially broken Wednesday for a new $11 million outpatient surgery center that will enhance the level of care and meet growing community needs for same-day, lower-cost surgical services.
The project is being undertaken by Willmar Medical Services, a joint venture of Rice Memorial Hospital and Affiliated Community Medical Centers.
“It’s an exciting time for all of us,” said Mike Schramm, president of Willmar Medical Services and chief executive of Rice Hospital.
The
WILLMAR—When Dr. Thomas Lange removes a patient’s gall bladder or Dr. Jennifer Lee-Pentz performs a simple hysterectomy, their snips and sutures are careful, dexterous and precise.
Except they’re not standing directly over the patient. They’re a few feet away, using robotic technology to perform the surgery.
Rice Memorial Hospital introduced robotic-assisted surgery last summer for a handful of selected procedures. As local use of the technology slowly grows, hospital officials hope it will
