It was standing room only as the community of Kimball celebrated the grand opening of their new hospital this week.
Kimball Health Services staff, administrators and trustees were joined by local politicians, as well as Governor Jim Pillen and State Sen. Brian Hardin, for a ribbon cutting ceremony Monday afternoon.
Kimball County Board Vice-Chair Carl Stander was among those who said the new facility ushers in a new era of healthcare in the community, “It is the responsibility of an elected official to maintain and improve the quality of life for its citizens,” said Stander. “This new facility raised the bar, and I truly believe the quality of life in Kimball and the surrounding areas has been greatly improved today.”
Construction took 18 months for completion, creating a 60,000 square foot facility at the site of the former West Elementary School.
Jim Cederburg, Chair of the KHS Board of Trustees, thanked the staff who worked tirelessly on the project, as well as the generous donors who helped make the new building a reality.
“This new hospital will prove to be a treasured and a valuable asset for our communities. A couple weeks ago, I had an opportunity to give two ladies a tour of the hospital, and one of them made a comment that really stuck with me. She said our community can now be very proud that we have a front range-quality health facility in Kimball, Nebraska,” Cederburg said.
USDA Rural Development provided much of the $43.6 million to build the new hospital, which started operations last week.
Kimball Mayor John Morrison told those in attendance it’s a special day for the community, which probably would have lost hospital services without the project. The previous 20,000 square foot facility been in use for 74 years.
