Cass County is one step closer to having its own hospital after a Minnesota House panel approved a bill last week calling for such a facility.
The House Health Policy and Finance Committee voted for Rep. Larry Howes' bill to provide an exception to the state's hospital construction moratorium for a facility in Cass County.
"Cass County has worked for many years on having a hospital," Howes, R-Walker, said in a statement. "The people of this region need such a facility because too often crucial medical cases are shipped to other hospitals, and unfortunately, precious time is lost in that transfer."
The bill requests the construction of a hospital with up to 25 beds in Cass County within a 20-mile radius of the state Ah-Gwah-Ching facility, provided the hospital's license holder is approved by the Cass County Board.
Current state law prohibits the construction of new hospitals or the expansion of hospital beds. The Legislature recently approved legislation to build an 80-bed hospital in Maple Grove, after the Department of Health ruled that the community could support a new facility.
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The Benedictines came forward with a proposal to construct a new hospital facility at Walker, Howes said. As required by state law, a proposal was recently submitted to the Health Department and a public interest review is underway.
The department said it will have a final decision on the review completed within 45 days, he said. Preliminary indications from the department are that there is a need for increased hospital care in the region and construction of the facility at Walker will most likely be in the public's best interest.
Currently, the Walker area is served by hospitals in Park Rapids and Bemidji, plus a federal Indian Health Service hospital in Cass Lake.
"I'm glad the committee supported this region's need for a hospital," Howes said. "As we learned in Maple Grove, there are plenty of communities in need of such facilities. Hopefully, Cass County will receive something it truly deserves."
Rep. Frank Moe, DFL-Bemidji, is a co-author of Howes' bill, which has no Senate companion bill as yet.
