July 19, 2007

Patient-centered, more accessible health care for Des Moines metro-area residents took a major step forward with today’s groundbreaking ceremony for Mercy Medical Center—West Lakes.

On Thursday, July 19, Mercy Medical Center held a groundbreaking ceremony, marking the official construction of Mercy Medical Center—West Lakes, which is located south of University Avenue at 1755 59th Pl. in West Des Moines.

When completed in late 2009, Mercy Medical Center—West Lakes will be a seven-story, 230,000 square foot hospital offering the same services as Mercy Capitol— including medical and surgical care, intensive care, obstetrical and cardiac services, a 24-hour emergency department, and diagnostic and ancillary services. The facility, which will be a replacement of Mercy Capitol, will cost between $90-$100 million to build and will initially open with 82 beds, with room for expansion if needed.

“More than 110 years ago, the Sisters of Mercy created a sacred trust with the people of Central Iowa,” said Mercy President & CEO David H. Vellinga. “They committed their lives to providing access to compassionate health care for the entire community—regardless of a person’s ability to pay. Though the landscape has changed and health care has evolved, needs remain. It is our honor to continue this legacy of caring by building a facility to serve our communities not just today— but well into the future. This modern facility will be a significant step in Mercy’s efforts to improve quality and patient safety, reduce costs and improve the healing environment for patients, families, employees and all who utilize the facility.”

Support from city officials and the community of West Des Moines helped make Mercy West Lakes a reality. Mercy West Lakes is an example of a public and private partnership working toward a common goal.

"A lot of work has gone into making this project a reality in our growing city,” said West Des Moines Mayor Steve Gaer. “The citizens of West Des Moines and the surrounding communities will benefit tremendously from this modern full-service hospital in West Des Moines.”

West Des Moines City Manager Jeff Pomerantz agrees and says Mercy West Lakes will quickly become a major benefit. "This site is ideal for Mercy because of its proximity to other health care services and excellent surrounding infrastructure. As a community hospital, we believe that Mercy is providing a critical quality-of-life amenity for our residents, our neighbors and the entire state of Iowa.”   

Mercy Medical Center—Des Moines is a 917-bed acute care, not-for-profit Catholic hospital, with more than 40 clinics and a network of rural health care facilities in 15 central Iowa communities.  The Mercy corporation includes ten wholly-owned subsidiaries, including: Mercy Medical Center—Centerville, Mercy Clinics Inc., Mercy College of Health Sciences, Mercy Foundation, Mercy Park Apartments, Bishop Drumm Retirement Center, Mercy Professional Practice Associates, Mercy Hospice and Home Care, Graduate Medical Education and Mercy Therapeutic Radiology Associates. Mercy has a medical staff of more than 800 physicians and allied health professionals and employs 6,600 people. Mercy Medical Center—Des Moines is a member of Mercy Health Network, an integrated system of five major medical centers across the state of Iowa created through a partnership between Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI) and Trinity Health, headquartered in Novi, Michigan. Mercy is also a member organization of CHI, a national non-profit health corporation based in Denver, Colorado. The CHI health system includes 70 hospitals; 43 long-term care, assisted and independent living and residential facilities; and two community-based health organizations located in 19 states. Catholic Health Initiatives represents approximately 66,000 employees and total revenues of $7.1 billion.  It is the second-largest Catholic health system in the United States.