Groundbreaking for new rural health building Tuesday

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[The groundbreaking ceremony for expansion and renovation of the rural health clinic building at Ferrell Hospital takes place Tuesday afternoon.

The new building will feature three additional provider suites including nine exam rooms and three physician offices. The expansion will include a centralized registration and business office.

The event will begins at 4 p.m. with The Phelps Brothers providing entertainment. The groundbreaking ceremony will take place at 4:30 p.m. on the back side of the hospital.

"We are excited about the addition and expansion of our rural health clinic," said Thomas F. Barry, Jr., president/CEO.

"The additional space will allow us to better serve our patients and their families. The new building also represents our ongoing commitment to the community for continued growth and expansion."

The building project is significantly funded through an Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity CDAP Flex grant through the city of Eldorado on behalf of Ferrell Hospital.

Eldorado City Council, almost precisely two years beforethe dedication, gave approval for the grant application for the clinic which will combine under one roof the several locations where Ferrell clinics are currently located.

Under grant guidelines, Eldorado had to make application and own the structure.

The guideline also said the city supplies matching money. However, agreement was made with Ferrell for the hospital to provide the actual match of about $200,000 for a grant of $580,000.

More recently, Eldorado council supported Ferrell Hospital in an effort to obtain a grant from the state for a CT scanner and new chilling equipment that both heats and cools the hospital. That grant also has been funded, according to Julie Patera of Southeastern Illinois Planning and Development Commission, the body that wrote each of the grant applications.

The city will operate as a "pass through" agency and will have no cost. Ferrell Hospital has committed 25 percent of the $470,000 grant application, or $120,000, to the project.