The big move day required the support of many community volunteers in mid-May as more than sixty residents were welcomed to their new digs at the recently completed Community Memorial Health Center in Burwell – like the creative use of bale retrievers from Thoene Farm Service and the Switzer Ranch to help move dozens of beds. In the small town of Burwell, best known as the home of Calamus Lake and Nebraska’s Big Rodeo, Community Memorial Health Center has operated with positive financials and increasing demand for services for the last ten years – driving the need to build the new $12,200,000 facility a couple blocks away. While many nursing homes across Nebraska have recently closed or are struggling to keep their doors open, how does a care facility in the small town of Burwell remain successful – so successful that Nebraska Lt. Governor, Mike Foley recently helped lead a grand opening celebration for the new 52,054 square foot nursing facility?
To better comprehend the unique trend-bucking situation in Burwell, one first has to understand the Burwell Community Memorial Health Center (CMHC) organization – which is a community member owned and operated non-profit organization. Meaning, a good percentage of area residents feel like they are vested in “their” care facility. However, despite the community’s interest and support of CMHC, it has not always been easy. For many years, CMHC’s management struggled to make operational finances work. Then, about ten years ago, the volunteer board of directors, led by board chair Terry DeGroff, hired a new operations manager and everything started turning around. The new manager, Tim Groshans, had previously worked for many years as a nurse with expanding management responsibilities, and learned the business end of effectively providing senior care. With his background of taking care of patients and increasing management efficiency, Tim tackled the challenges at CMHC and soon had happier patients and organization membership, with the finances operating in the black. The resulting increased resources allowed for facility updates and enhanced staff support – making the nursing facility one of the most sought after in the region.
Regarding their operational turnaround, CMHC Board Member, Brenda Holmquist, explained: “Our management, namely Tim Groshans, with support from other leaders, is the key to our success. Tim has years of experience directing successful nursing homes, and he clearly understands what drives success. In addition to patient care, he knows what must take place to keep a nursing home running in the right financial direction. For example, Tim uses a dynamic report to constantly keep an eye on all key operational factors and quickly makes changes as needed to keep the nursing home running in good standing.”
During his remarks at the grand opening event, Lt. Governor Mike Foley, proclaimed: “This is a fabulous and gorgeous facility which is a great asset, not only for Burwell, but for the whole State of Nebraska! We need vibrant communities like Burwell that are willing to invest to make their communities more attractive so others will want to come to Nebraska and experience our great quality of life – which Burwell certainly offers.” The Lt. Governor explained that “Our society is aging and the demand for skilled nursing and assisted living resources is going to sky-rocket. With this fabulous new facility, Burwell is now positioned to meet much of the future needs in this area.” Foley also expressed appreciation for “all that worked hard to collaborate and help make this [new facility] happen, including the USDA.”
USDA State Director of Nebraska, Karl Elmshaeuser, stated, “The USDA is excited to be part of this project, helping to foster economic development and opening doors to better jobs and prosperity. With this project in Burwell – one of the few rural communities that experienced population growth in the last census – we are helping to ensure that more individuals and families have needed health care resources going forward.”
CMHC Board of Directors Chair, Dr. Tim Garner, told the large group of grand opening attendees, “What you see here before you didn’t just happen because of good fortune or luck. The completion of this multi-year project required many hours of work, sweat and tears – as well as many sleepless nights. Burwell and the surrounding area should be very proud of what we see here today. And to think that this all started with a drawing on a napkin, and a vision for providing quality nursing home care in this part of rural Nebraska for many years to come.” Garner also expressed, “Special thanks certainly go to Tim and Hayley Groshans for providing the passion and persistence required to see this project through to completion, as well as many others like former board members, Bob Essig and Terry DeGroff. We would not be here today without their leadership and dedicated involvement.”
“When one considers the incredible quality care that CMHC offers to our community, as well as how many people are employed and the overall positive impact on our local economy, it’s easy to appreciate how important CMHC is to Burwell,” said Burwell Mayor, Jim Roblyer. With more than 90 employees, CMHC is Burwell’s largest employer, and a significant economic contributor to the community.
CMHC History
Community Memorial Health Center was originally founded as a hospital in 1952. In 1968, a 40-bed nursing home was added. When the hospital closed in the late 1980s, the CMHC nursing home remained open, adding a new assisted living area in 2001. In addition to providing top-rated long-term care, today CMHC offers swing bed care (short-term rehabilitation care), adult day care, respite care, hospice care, outpatient bathing, and transportation services.
CMHC Quick Facts
Location: 1015 F Street, Burwell, NE 68823
Phone Contact: 308-346-4440
Website: www.cmhcburwell.com
Facility Specifications: 52,054 square feet, with 58 skilled nursing rooms, including 18 rooms utilized for assisted living and 14 rooms for memory care.
Facility Financing: $10.2 million direct loan from USDA Rural Development and a $2 million loan through Pathway Bank that is backed by a USDA Rural Development guarantee.
Facility Architect/Contractor: Ayars & Ayars, Inc. (Lincoln, NE)
Organization Type: Community owned non-profit, with volunteer board of directors oversight (Dr. Tim Garner, Brenda Holmquist, Colby Wurst, Melissa Schere, Suzanne Kraus).
Administrator: Kally Cloeter (ait@cmhcburwell.com)
Staff: 92 total employees – 80 full-time
Annual Payroll: More than $2,235,000
Occupancy: Most demanded/sought after facility in region, as evidenced by highest census (occupancy) and lowest turnover – attracting residents (and their visitors) from surrounding communities, including Ord, Sargent, Taylor, Ericson and Broken Bow.
Types of Care:
Medicare Skilled Nursing Care – skilled nursing describes a high level of medical care that can only be provided by a licensed medical professional.
Veteran’s Administration Nursing Care – contracted with Veteran’s Administration to provide nursing home care for Veterans.
Long Term Nursing Care – enhancing health and emotional stability.
Memory Support & Nursing Care – Alzheimer’s, Dementia, and Memory Care provided in a secure area.
Friendship Home Assisted Living – providing resident independence with little help from certified staff.
Other Services – Adult Day Care, Respite Care, Hospice Care, Outpatient Bathing and Transportation Services
About Burwell
The City of Burwell is situated in northcentral Nebraska in Garfield County. The city is one of the few rural communities in Nebraska that experienced census growth during the last ten to fifteen years, with about seven-percent growth for both the city and the surrounding county, with a documented population of 1,210 for the city, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. While serving as the agricultural business hub for the area, the level of commercial/retail business in Burwell exceeds most communities of similar population, in large part due to the high level of tourism traffic along the Loup Rivers Scenic Byway to visit the nearby Lake (Calamus State Recreation Area) and Sandhills, or to enjoy Nebraska’s Big Rodeo each year (July 24-27, 2019). More information about visiting the Burwell area, or about living and business opportunities, is available by calling Burwell Economic Development at 308-346-5210.
