History

Grant Regional Health Center, formerly known as Lancaster Memorial Hospital, opened its doors on Sept. 19, 1955, but plans for development started 10 years earlier. In 1945 a small group of citizens began considering the possibility of a new hospital. It wasn't until 1952, when Lancaster became eligible for government grants, that a new group, under the chairmanship of Albert Weber, started planning again.

In 1953 Mrs. Sumpter "Lulu" Williams provided the bulk of her estate ($81,585) to assist in the construction of a municipal hospital. Thirteen communities surrounding Lancaster voted to tax themselves $80,000 to be used to help build the hospital. In addition, more than $25,000 was given in unsolicited private donations. The 36-bed hospital was built at a total cost of more than $600,000. The cooperation of generous citizens of the city of Lancaster and the surrounding communities made this possible.

The hospital's history has been a story of continual progress to keep pace with the constantly changing field of healthcare. In 1956 there were 17 physicians on the hospital staff. The hospital had 24 full-time employees and 10 part-time employees. Services included a business office, x-ray, anesthesia, surgery, obstetrics, maintenance, dietary services and laundry. In 1962 a new wing was opened because of overcrowding, and the hospital became a 56-bed institution.

In 1973 another major expansion project took place—the building of a new south wing for administration. New departments and services, such as physical therapy and social services, were added.

In 1975 the three-bed intensive care unit, complete with cardiac monitors, went into operation. Later that year the hospital emergency services expanded from one room to three rooms. In 1979 a number of patient rooms were taken out of service, reducing the number of beds to 50.

Patient space was again decreased in 1981 to accommodate additional services. In January 1985 the patient-bed capacity was reduced again to 35.

A hospice suite was built in 1993, thanks to a large contribution from the hospital Auxiliary. In September that same year, Grant Regional Health Center acquired the Fennimore Clinic, located approximately 12 miles north, and in June 1995 the health center opened the Potosi-Tennyson Medical Clinic, located approximately 11 miles south. In 1994 new construction was added to the hospital to provide space for occupational health and sports medicine programs.

In 1998 Grant Regional Health Center completed a $5.9 million construction and equipment project. With that expansion, the hospital made a significant commitment to the community to meet existing and future needs for healthcare services. The project included expansion of the outpatient, emergency and surgery departments, allowing for greater capabilities and improved services. As a major component in the effort to provide greater convenience, Grant Community Clinic relocated to the Madison Street level of the new campus. The project also included a central entry location and improved patient and visitor circulation throughout the facility.

The hospital changed status when it applied to be designated as a critical access hospital. The change in status allows the hospital more flexibility with many federal rules and regulations. In addition, the hospital is now eligible for a higher level of payment from Medicare. Patients will receive the same services and high-quality care with this new status. The majority of changes affected internal operations.

When you visit Grant Regional you might notice some structural changes but perhaps it's Grant Regional's spirit of care that one might notice the most. There are subtle elements and gestures everywhere throughout the hospital—all very intentional and added to enhance the patient or visitor's experience. Grant Regional began working with The Disney Institute since 2002, and continues work in improvement teams to provide exceptional customer service. Our culture has evolved to take into consideration how we can make every aspect of our patients' experience the very best we can.

In Fall 2013, Grant Regional acquired the Dean Clinic in Lancaster (renamed Grant Regional Community Clinic). The clinic continues to accept a wider variety of insurance plans and has exceeded our expectations in patient volumes in this first year. We have hired additional providers and will continue to expand our medical staff in response to increased patient visits.

Our journey to expand

For approximately 20 years, Grant Regional Health Center has worked diligently to grow and expand to better serve Lancaster and the surrounding communities. We have changed from a small hospital in need of updating to the strong, progressive organization we are today. With the acquisition of the clinic in 2013 and the addition of new surgeons - we are at a point of growth once again. In 1995, the hospital separated from the City of Lancaster and entered into a lease arrangement with the City. Grant Regional Health Center then became its own corporation. We've determined the current lease agreement limits our future growth.

We've outgrown our current footprint and have explored options to gain the space needed. A 60 year-old building has challenges and limitations to operating efficiently and being able to offer state-of-the-art care. We value our independence and our goal is to maintain our current organizational structure in the future. We feel it is important to stay neutral in order to offer a wide variety of insurance options for our patients.

Our strength and independence will only offer new opportunities to work with other organizations, enhance the services we are able to offer and recruit new providers to our region – and ultimately allow us to continue to grow. 2015 was the right time to move forward to invest in ourselves: our people, processes, technology and facilities to assure the ability to offer thriving healthcare services well into the future. The City of Lancaster and Grant Regional agreed to a mutually beneficial agreement to terminate the lease and the hospital in turn purchased it land and assets from the city and is now a completely independent organization from the city.

Further discussions with the city continued in 2015 and led to a city council public hearing in October to propose vacating South Monroe Street adjacent to the properties owned by the hospital. Since then GRHC has purchased two additional homes on Monroe Street which would allow street closure from the south tip of the heliport to the end of the block on the corner of Oak and Monroe. The next step was the final public hearing City Council meeting for rezoning of those new properties from residential to commercial, followed by approval of the section of Monroe street vacation. With this positive step forward, the hospital was then able to continue the master facility management planning. Administration with managers and staff involved, set out to design expanded space to include additional needed parking that remains on the hospital campus and does not interfere with our residential neighbors; provide new space for our growing clinic; and allow a roof top heliport for safety and patient privacy.

Grant Regional continued to grow through added physicians, expanded services and a focus on innovation. 2016 was highlighted by strong dedication to quality patient care, service line expansion, successful recruitment of providers, and continued commitment to Lancaster and our surrounding communities.

After several years of planning and preparation, the wheels were set in motion when Grant Regional officially broke ground May 11, 2017 on the first phase of a $20+ million expansion and renovation project. It included a combination of 32,000 square feet of new construction for hospital and clinic space as well as 39,000 square feet of extensive renovation of existing space. The renovations and new construction was completed in phases, with final completion projected for Fall/Winter 2018. The construction firm for the project is JH Findorff and Son of Madison with Wold A/E as the architect firm. The goal of the design includes a modern medical/surgical inpatient unit with private bathrooms; new space for our growing multi-specialty clinic; rooftop heliport for safety and patient privacy; fixed MRI in-house; expanded Emergency Department with enclosed ambulance bay; and much needed parking that will remain on the hospital campus and does not interfere with our residential neighbors.

Doors officially opened to the expansion on Monday, September 10, 2018. The hospital’s main entrance is now just south of its former main entrance. Both hospital and Grant Regional Community Clinic patients will enter through the NEW main entrance. Grant Regional Community Clinic has relocated to the new expanded space in the lower level of the expansion on the east side of the hospital. The former main entrance will become the Emergency, Walk-In Care and Surgery entrance. Specialty Clinic patients will continue to park and enter off Madison Street and use same existing lower level entrance.

Expansion highlights:

• A modern medical/surgical inpatient unit with private bathrooms.
• New space for our growing multi-specialty clinic.
• Expanded space and centralized location for Outpatients and Lab.
• State of the art Radiology department with in-house MRI.
• Rooftop heliport for safety and patient privacy.
• Expanded Emergency Department with enclosed ambulance garage.
• Main Street amenities including Gift Shop and Coffee Shop.
• History Wall to commemorate our past and Donor Wall to recognize our contributors.
• Healing Garden that provides peaceful retreat for patients and visitors.
• Education Center in lower level for community presentations and classes.
• Additional on-campus parking.

A successful grand opening celebration was hosted on Sunday, October 14th with over 800 attendees from surrounding communities.

2019:

Nate Stocco, PA-C joined Dr. Brad Binsfeld's Orthopedic team. Grant Regional opened two area clinics: Cassville in April and Potosi in July.

Joint Replacement University was introduced in July. Dr. Ian Stormont achieved the UroLift Center of Excellence designation in October. He is the only physician in our region offering this revolutionary treatment for enlarged prostate.

OB renovation fundraising campaign began in Fall 2019. The focus of this campaign is to create enhanced maternity care, new technology and added comfort for patients and families.

2020:

Fuerste Eye Clinic expanded another full-service clinic at Grant Regional Health Center in February and reopened in July 2020. Fuerste Eye Clinics are well known for their reputation and dedication to patients by providing comprehensive eye care services, local surgery convenience, full contact lens services and a complete optical center with a wide selection of designer frames and precision lenses. Dr. Tyler Risma will see patients and perform all surgeries at Grant Regional Health Center in Lancaster.

GRHC proudly introduces Bone Health Clinic - a new, one-of-a-kind program in Southwest Wisconsin, offering patients a comprehensive way to treat osteoporosis and fragility fractures.

Grant Regional continued its remarkable response to the Covid-19 pandemic including ongoing large volumes of testing, care and treatment of outpatient, inpatient and emergency patients in addition to implementing vaccination clinics. 2020 was a year of constant challenge to adjust to the ongoing changes that the pandemic presented. Also in an effort to expand our capacity to care for patients in isolation, additional negative pressure capabilities were added to the Med/Surg unit.

2021:

Grant Regional Health Center is proud to offer the region a comprehensive array of medical and surgical services. Not only did the hospital continue to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic throughout 2021, but the hospital also continued to grow and expand despite the pandemic and recruit additional primary and specialty providers as well expand programs and services. We take great pride in providing compassionate, quality care to Lancaster and our surrounding communities.

In June 2021, we welcomed Dr. Debasish Bhattacharyya, Comprehensive Neurology and Spine Care. His practice offers local Neurology and Spine Care including: disorders of the brain, spinal cord and nervous system. Spine care includes treatment of neurological and pain disorder arising from disorders of the spine.

We introduced Outpatient Counseling in July as part of Grant Regional Community Clinic. In response to our Community Health Needs Assessment which indicated mental health as an area of concern and need for more services in our region, we introduced this new service to meet the community needs.

We are proud of our successful recruitment efforts. We welcomed Dr. Eli James to Grant Regional Community Clinic in September. As a family practice provider, he welcomes new patients of all ages with an interest in men’s health, nutrition, and preventative care. He sees patients in Lancaster and Cassville clinic locations. (photo) We also welcomed Dr. Patrick Schweiger and Dr. Michael Traktman to add to our all MD Emergency Department.

Potosi-Tennyson Medical Clinic and Cassville Clinic expanded clinic availability to two days a week in each community. Dr. Kim Perttu and Abigail Burns, APNP, see patients in Potosi while Dr. Eli James and Kate Reuter, APNP, see patients in Cassville.

We are also proud to be an innovative leader in the region with offering Stereotactic Breast Biopsy. Dr. Darren Perttu, General Surgeon, also offers advanced surgical techniques including Laparoendoscopic Single Site surgery (LESS) in addition to minimally invasive laparoscopic surgeries including hysterectomies.

2022:
Grant Regional officially completed the OB renovation project to enhance maternity care, new technology and added comfort. We also converted to Unity Point Health for our electronic medical record system.

We began an internal Inclusivity initiative including Spanish in the Workforce language training, bilingual signage updates, document translation and new language line to aid patients who do not speak English or hearing impaired.

We announced plans to build a new clinic in Fennimore that will include family practice, lab, radiology and rehabilitation.

Grant Regional also welcomed four new providers including Dr. David Casillas Plazola, FP/OB, Dr. Dale Chilson, ENT; Dr. Priscilla George, ER MD, and Rachel Loeffelholz, APNP.

We are proud to maintain our 5 Star rating consecutively for over 4+ years.

GRHC was one of nineteen hospitals recognized by the University of Wisconsin Organ and Tissue Donation (UW OTD) for our ongoing commitment to saving and improving lives through organ and tissue donation

Our Walk-In Care hours were extended to 6 AM - 10 PM daily.

We completed expansion of a 3rd Operating Room.

GRHC was recognized for the Chartis Performance Leadership Award 2022 - Patient Perspective