L'ANSE, MI – The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will insure a $28,310,000 loan to Baraga County Memorial Hospital in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, according to U.S. Congressman Bart Stupak (D-Mich.).
The loan is being provided through the Federal Housing Administration's Section 242 Hospital Mortgage Insurance Program and will be used to construct a new facility approximately three miles from the existing site in L'Anse, Mich.
"Baraga County Memorial Hospital provides critical access to medical care in L'Anse and the surrounding areas," Stupak said. "With the nearest hospital nearly an hour away, it is critical BCMH has a state-of-the-art facility to serve patients in Baraga County. This HUD-insured mortgage will allow the hospital to continue providing quality care for years to come."
The proposed replacement hospital is a one-story, 71,158-square-foot facility housing 15 acute beds with a retail pharmacy and an attached outpatient center. It would also contain areas for imaging, laboratory, dietary, pharmacy, physical therapy, respiratory therapy and support departments.
Built in 1969, the current hospital is no longer suited for today's volume of outpatient activity, Stupak said, as it doesn't allow for implementation of new inpatient technology and services.
HUD estimates the project will support 103 full-time jobs in the community and provide an economic stimulus of $70.5 million. Following construction, the completed project will provide an annual economic benefit of $2.4 million.
FHA's Section 242 Mortgage Insurance Program for Hospitals provides HUD-insured mortgages made by private lending institutions to finance construction or renovation of acute care hospitals including major equipment needed to operate the facility.
