I was not prepared for the announcement that was in the Marcus News paper (July 27) concerning Heartland Care Center. I guess that if you are not on the “paying bills, etc.” at Heartland, you would not have any idea of what it takes to keep their head above water with the costs going up at the speed they are going up. It has been bad enough to run a household yet alone Heartland. This announcement sent me to the very beginning of Heartland Care Center. The following information is given credit to those who wrote on its history in the Marcus history books.
The Heartland Care Center opened its doors on August 1, 1994. This marked the official end of a 16-year battle to have a long-term care facility serve Marcus and the surrounding communities. A Care Center worked diligently from January 1978 to obtain the needed license. Among those serving on the original committee were: Pastor Karlton Wagner, Msgr. A.W. Behrens, Stan Nervig, John Leavitt, Martha Ament, Debbie Ruden, Edna Bindner, and Mayor Jack Dunn.
I was at the first public meeting that was held with an official from the State present. The committee had their “ducks” in line and it appeared the State official was impressed. Happy Siesta Care Center representative from Remsen stated it wouldn’t hurt their Care Center if Marcus had one. Then a representative from Cherokee said his Care Center had just added a new wing and there weren’t any people to occupy it so he saw no reason why Marcus should have one if there weren’t any people filling his beds. That did it! Despite very hard work and dedicated effort, the State Licensing Board rejected the application. A few years later, Mayor Loren Stowater again ignited the fire to get a nursing home for Marcus. A developer from Sioux City came and met with interested residents, but failed to pursue the project. In November 1989, Marcus Economic Development Corporation President Steve Smith challenged the MEDICO board to once again renew the effort to get a nursing home for Marcus.
MEDICO hosted a meeting at which Ann Dorr, a local resident, explained in detail the proper procedure to follow in the effort to get a nursing home for Marcus. In January 1990, Heartland Care Center, Inc. was formed with Tom Dorr as its first president. Two years later, on December 12, 1991, a State Approval for the Certification for Need was granted. A community fund drive was led by Ken Vance and Associates of Le Mars. With Darrell Downs ans Stan Nervig as co-chairmen, a host of workers collected over $1,000,000 in pledges. On August 30, 1993, ground was broken for construction construction on land donated by Vernon and Edna Bindner family.
Over 100 meetings by volunteer board members, building, landscaping, furnishings/equipment, recognition/memorials, and interior design committees were held. The Heartland Care Auxiliary was formed; and with over a 100 members, is one of the largest and most active such organizations in Iowa.
Mr. Tom Swanson served as Care Center’s first administrator. In the short time the facility has been opened, it can now boast of near-capacity occupancy. A dedicated staff, many of them Marcus residents, provides the hometown care which was the original goal of the Heartland founders. The current Board members of the Heartland Care Center are: Stan Nervig, President; Steve Smith, Vice President; Clarice Wiese, Treasurer; Judy Letsche, Secretary; Don Kerr, Jean Hueser, Lisa Mayer, Lorn Stowater, and Walt Sterrett.
Our Sesquicentennial book reported the following information on Heartland Care Center: Heartland Care Center and the project associated with building the nursing home was derived from a need-based assessment in the years prior to construction when the community realized their population demographic was growing much older. Darrell Downs and Stanley Nervig were two of the influential organizers who went around and collected the funds in a campaign drive in order to get the nursing home built. The nursing home began being built in 1993 and was constructed by Ebert Construction from Marcus. The building became licensed in 1994, and immediately began serving the elderly population of Marcus and the surrounding areas.
From the beginning, the Board of Directors has consisted of 9 local citizens who share the responsibility of directing the goals of Heartland Care Center. The first administrator was Thomas Swanson, from Mapleton, who served just short of a decade. Since Tom was running two buildings at the time, he brought on LuAnn Rogge to take the sole administration in Marcus. She would serve as leader of the nursing home for over 20 years before her retirement in 2016. That year, Kody Nelson took over the reins of Heartland Care Center and is currently in the same role.
Heartland Care Center has always prided itself on being a locally-owned, non-profit facility. They have continued to operate their day-to-day operations with patient quality as their main goal. Retaining high quality staff and overall longevity is something Heartland is very committed to accomplishing. Heartland Care Center will open a brand new nursing home wing on the northeast corner of their building. This will add 8 licensed beds to their total capacity and 21 Assisted Living Beds. The new wing will include modern finishes, entirely private resident rooms for increased privacy, private showers in each bathroom, and a hospice room for families and residents in the final stages of life.
The community of Marcus has always been faithfully supportive to the nursing facility, and we are excited to see the community prosper long into the future!
Now this article in the Marcus News has stated problems that has Heartland Care Center having to affiliate with Cherokee Regional Medical Center. There is a public meeting on August 2
(Wednesday) to discuss the issue of affiliation. Where is this meeting to be held?
Now is the time to show up and find out what is happening. Don’t let all the hard work that the people worked so hard to get Heartland Care Center to what it is today, go down the drain. Just because you might not be Senior Citizen age, does not mean you would never need it until you are. Like I’ve said many times—Go to this meeting, or forever hold your peace.