$1 Million Dollar Donor Announced
February 10th, 2010
At the dedication for the new Jones Regional Medical Center in Anamosa Saturday, hospital officials announced the donation of $1 million to the project by Joanne and Ernie Buresh of Cedar Rapids, formerly of Jones County.
This donation culminates the hospital’s capital campaign, putting the total amount raised at $4 million from 850 donors. In their honor, the Bureshes have their name above the main entrance of the hospital.
The Bureshes made their gift in memory of Joanne’s parents, George H. and Erma L. Paulsen, lifelong residents of Jones County and in honor of their children, Wendy S. Buresh, MD, and Sandra Buresh.
Sean Williams, CEO of Jones Regional Medical Center, spoke his thanks to all involved in making the building a reality. Michael Weston, MD, of Iowa Health Physicians and capital campaign steering committee member, reiterated the importance of a modern and easily-accessible facility for patients. Jay Willems, Jones Regional board member, Foundation chair, and capital campaign co-chair explained the role St. Luke’s Hospital has played in the process and how the Jones County community has come together to raise funds for the project. Charlie Becker, Foundation board member and capital campaign co-chair, highlighted one of the campaign’s other major donors, the late Eloise Sutherland Helgens, originally of the Scotch Grove, IA area, who donated $920,000 via proceeds from a family farm. Ted Townsend, president and CEO of St. Luke’s Hospital introduced the Bureshes and their ties to Jones County.
Following the dedication and ribbon cutting, the public toured the new facility, which includes the following features:
• Private emergency rooms with three major treatment rooms with state-of-the-art equipment and four exam rooms
• Accommodations for 22 inpatients with state-of-the-art patient beds in a family, home-like setting and private bathrooms. Private rooms for up to the first 15 patients; double rooms for some patients should census exceed 15.
• A 600-square-foot, state-of-the-art surgery suite and a second top-of-the-line surgery suite dedicated for endoscopies
• Expanded outpatient specialty clinics, surgeries and other outpatient procedures
• In cardiopulmonary rehabilitation, additional exercise space and equipment
• Patient menus so that patients can order what they’d like from a given selection
• More private treatment rooms for physical, occupational, and speech therapies
• A more comfortable environment in all rooms with each having thermostats to more easily control the temperature
• Overall, more privacy as well as more efficiency and ease-of-use for everyone due to its design
The actual opening of the hospital for patients will be at the beginning of the day, 12 a.m., Tuesday, October 13, 2009. At this time, patients are to go to the new facility as the old facility will be closed. The new address is 1795 Hwy. 64 East, Anamosa, IA 52205. The general phone number remains the same at 319-462-6131 as does the general fax number at 319-462-4689. For more information, please call or visit the website at www.jonesregional.org.
