UnityPoint Health - Grinnell Regional Medical Center (GRMC) is currently the only hospital with an obstetrics unit in Poweshiek, Marshall, Iowa and Tama counties.
Our commitment to stabilize and grow our maternal health service line for our region remains steadfast because we believe it is fundamental to our communities and to our mission.
The Delivering Our Future Campaign is an opportunity for our friends to philanthropically support GRMC’s plans to renovate and optimize the existing space of our obstetrics (OB) unit, including an increase in the number of labor, delivery, recovery and postpartum rooms.
A Defining Moment
Pregnant women living in rural America face unprecedented barriers to maternity care. More than 100 rural hospitals throughout the country have closed since 2010. Of those that remain, 20% are at risk of closing, and many are choosing to shut down their OB units due to the growing shortages of physicians, nurses and anesthesia staff.
In Iowa there were 79 hospitals with OB units in 2013; there are only 56 today, a decrease of nearly 30%.
Hospital and/or OB unit closures mean laboring women in rural areas face longer journeys, which lead to an increase in births outside of the hospital, births in hospitals without OB care or births in an emergency department. These situations put the mother and the baby at risk.
Committed to Grow
Patient visits to our OBGYN Clinic in 2023 increased by more than 28% over the preceding year. The upward trending number of expecting moms receiving prenatal care in our clinic supports the expected increase in babies to be born at GRMC.
We must respond to this need for important OB services within the hospital setting. Growing the OB unit is critical to meeting the needs of the parents and babies in our rural region of central Iowa.
Last renovated in 2000 with the support of John and Jewel Kintzinger, there are currently only three labor and delivery rooms. With increasing frequency, our labor and delivery rooms are consistently full. With the growth of our OBGYN Clinic space and resulting patients receiving their care here, more labor and delivery rooms are needed.
"Having maternity services available locally not only serves parents-to-be, but also extended family members, business owners and the communities at large in the GRMC service area. "
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A Labor of Love
The plans to accommodate this growth include the addition of a new, fully-equipped labor, delivery, recovery and postpartum (LDRP) room to meet our immediate needs. The cost for this first phase is $534,000.
Phase two includes additional renovations to the OB unit, with an estimated cost of $2 million.
To make this possible, we need your philanthropic support.
As a private non-profit and non-tax supported medical center, GRMC relies on support from the community to help with extraordinary projects to improve patient care or provide critical services – projects just like the growth of our OB unit.
You can help the parents and babies who live in our rural communities have access to the care they need and deserve - close to home.
A Foundation to Grow On
In 2023, 243 babies were born at GRMC, and the trend is expected to continue to rise. Ensuring each baby has the best care possible before leaving our facility is the focus of our entire OB team, as evidenced by our five-year designation as a Silver Safe Sleep Hospital by Cribs for Kids® and being named to the Hepatitis B Birth Dose Honor Roll by the Immunization Action Coalition. GRMC provides a wide array of education and support opportunities for the parents-to-be, including lactation specialists, parenting classes, postpartum home visits and outpatient clinic consultations.
Our team of medical professionals specialize in exceeding your expectations for maternity care.
"The OB nurses are absolutely wonderful. They were very caring, very prompt and really helped me to recover well. My OB doctor was so great with her care and compassion and really made me feel like she was invested in me and my baby's well-being."OB Patient |
Help Us Grow
Be part of every GRMC baby’s first hours of life and give now to the Delivering Our Future campaign. Your support is critical, and we ask you to consider helping in one or more of the following ways.
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Determine the impact you wish to make with your gift. Some options to consider: b. A two- or three-year commitment to maximize your support. |
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Connect the GRMC Foundation to your friends and family. |
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Share your why. |
Contact Us
Contact Donna Fischer at (641) 236-2079 or donna.fischer@unitypoint.org for more information and support options.