Rice News

Willmar Medical Services Joint Venture

Beginning January 1, 2008, Affiliated Community Medical Centers (ACMC) and Rice Memorial Hospital (Rice) will sign a joint venture agreement to provide imaging and cancer center services for our communities. The new joint venture, called Willmar Medical Services, will also include the Willmar Surgery Center, which has been jointly owned by ACMC and Rice for over twenty years. Willmar Medical Services will be a for-profit entity, co-owned by Rice and ACMC.

With the formation of Willmar Medical Services, the Willmar Surgery Center will remain at its present location. Imaging services will continue to be provided at both locations. Cancer services provided by ACMC and Rice will be combined and located on the Rice hospital campus to form a single, comprehensive cancer treatment center called the Willmar Cancer Center. The new venture will be seamless to our patients.

Both Rice and ACMC are committed to providing quality care. Achieving the highest level of quality care requires continually looking at new ways of providing services and the ways in which those services are delivered.

Employees affected by departmental changes will eventually be employed by Willmar Medical Services. The transition will occur sometime in 2008, specific details about compensation and benefits packages will be forthcoming.

Both ACMC and Rice are excited about the development of Willmar Medical Services, and believe this venture will allow us to better serve our community through improved access and state-of-the-art technology. This partnership reflects the positive working relationship between the two healthcare entities.

Additional details about Willmar Medical Services are being developed through a process involving both organizations and will require approval by both entities, with the city council approving the joint venture for Rice Memorial Hospital.

New Orthopedic Practice at Rice

Rice Memorial Hospital and Affiliated Community Medical Centers are pleased to announce a long-term agreement has been entered into with Alexandria Orthopaedic Associates, P.A. The orthopaedic physician group will staff a local branch office called the Orthopaedic Associates/Willmar initially located within ACMC Willmar clinic. The cooperative effort between the three entities will improve access to orthopaedic services to people in Willmar and surrounding communities.

“The advantages of this partnership are numerous,” said Dr. Ronald Holmgren, ACMC President and CEO. “We are pleased to be able to strengthen healthcare in our communities by providing expanded access to orthopaedic services and technology. As a result of this partnership, our patients will receive high quality orthopaedic and sport injury care locally.”

ACMC Administrator, Terry Tone concurs. “This is a strategic, long-term solution which fills a huge need in this community,” said Tone. “By working together we are able to provide reliable, coordinated healthcare long term.”

Alexandria Orthopaedic Associates has been providing state-of-the-art medical and surgical treatment for disorders of the musculoskeletal system since 1973. Their group consists of five orthopaedic surgeons and four physician assistants. The Orthopedic Associates/Willmar surgeons and Dr. Howard Sampson will have their clinic located in the orthopaedic area on the first floor of ACMC’s main campus. Surgeries will be performed both at Rice Memorial Hospital and the Willmar Surgery Center.

Lorry Massa, CEO of Rice Memorial Hospital added, “Rice and ACMC have a long history of providing excellent orthopedic care for area residents. This new partnership should help us resolve the current manpower shortage and build upon that strong tradition to expand orthopedic services in the region very soon.”

Recognizing the great need for orthopaedic services in this area, Orthopaedic Associates/Willmar will initially offer services in Willmar three to four days a week while continuing to recruit for additional local orthopaedic surgeons. The orthopaedic surgeons recruited in the future will live and practice in the Willmar area. This group of orthopaedic surgeons provides a complete range of adult reconstructive surgery, including primary and revision total joint arthroplasty and their team also includes one of the few fellowship trained sports medicine specialists outside the Twin Cities area.

“The physicians and staff of Alexandria Orthopaedic Associates are excited about our invitation to collaborate closely with the medical community and Rice Hospital in Willmar,” said a representative from Alexandria Orthopaedic Associates. “Willmar has always maintained a vibrant medical community and we are honored to now be a part of it.”

New CNO Begins at Rice Memorial Hospital

Maureen Ideker, R.N., has joined the Rice Executive Team as Associate Administrator for Care Management/Chief Nursing Officer. For the past 20 plus years, Maureen has served as the Director of Patient Care Services at Tri-County Hospital in Wadena, Minnesota. Tri-County is a 25 bed critical access hospital accredited by the Joint Commission. She has past experience in Psychiatric nursing and Medical/Surgical nursing, both in leadership positions and at the bedside. She also has experience in Human Resources, having served as an Employment Coordinator at one point in her career. She has worked as a staff nurse at St. Mary’s Hospital in Rochester, and in both staff and leadership positions at Immanuel St. Joseph’s Hospital in Mankato and at Marion Health Center in Sioux City, Iowa, prior to her tenure at Tri-County.

Maureen obtained her Associate of Arts degree in nursing from Rochester Community College in Rochester, Minnesota and her Bachelor’s of Science degree in nursing from Briar Cliff College in Sioux City, Iowa. She obtained a Master’s of Arts degree in business administration with a health services administration focus from the University of South Dakota. She recently completed Long Term Care Administrator coursework at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health and is a licensed Long Term Care Administrator.

Maureen has been very active and involved in her professional organization, the Minnesota Organization of Leaders in Nursing (MOLN) since 1987. She is a recipient of the MOLINE Award, which recognizes outstanding leadership in nursing at the local, regional and state levels. She has served as a member of the MOLN Board and as its President. She was also recognized by the American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE) with the Individual Achievement Health Policy Award for her work in improving patient care through technology applications. Maureen has been active in community organizations serving on the board of a non-profit employment agency serving disabled adults in the Wadena area and as a member of the Wadena Rotary Club.

Building Project Complete

When Cushman Rice established the funds to build Rice Memorial Hospital in memory of his parents, Albert and Sophia Rice, he envisioned a place where the residents of Willmar could receive excellent care.
Today as we mark the completion of our $52 million building project, we feel that Cushman would be pleased to see a facility designed to deliver state-of-the-art healthcare and meet the needs of our community for many years to come.
Welcome to the New Rice.

Building Project Factoids:

There are 180,000 square feet of new construction & 65,000 square feet of remodeled space
There remains 16,300 square feet of shelled space retained for future expansion/programs
In order to begin Phase 1 of the project, dump trucks hauled away about 7,000 loads or 40,000 cubic yards of dirt
There are 26 miles of electrical conduit throughout the hospital
There are 172 miles of voice and data cabling throughout the new and renovated spaces
61 miles of primary power wiring were used for the project
There are 6 miles of domestic water piping in the hospital
There are 5 miles of medical gas piping throughout the new and renovated spaces
There are 9 miles of ductwork throughout the hospital
170,000 bricks were used for the new facility (this does not include the bricks used on “the Bunker”
There are 976 new doors for just Phase I of the project

Click here to print out a copy of our Patient & Visitor Parking Plan.

For more information on Rice's building project, click here.