RUGBY, N.D. – Senator John Hoeven today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has approved more than $55 million in USDA loans for Heart of America Medical Center to construct a new hospital, clinic and long-term care facility in Rugby. That includes $50,243,000 in a Community Facilities Loan and $5,000,000 in a Community Facilities Guaranteed Loan. As ranking member of the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Committee, Hoeven oversees the funding for USDA Rural Development and has worked to support HAMC’s loan application.
“We’ve worked with HAMC and community leaders to advance this critical project, which is necessary to ensure that the residents of Rugby, Dunseith, Maddock and the surrounding region have access to vital health care services,” said Hoeven. “We pressed USDA to approve the loan in a timely manner to help keep costs down and to ensure construction on the project advances. This is all about providing a high quality of life for our residents now and in the future.”
HAMC currently operates a hospital, three clinics and a long-term care facility, with the hospital and original clinic having been built in the 1940s. Due to the age of the facilities, repairs and updates have become increasingly cost-prohibitive. HAMC is pursuing a plan to construct a new hospital, clinic and long-term care facility at an estimated cost of about $50 million. To help with financing, the medical center applied for the Community Facilities Loan and Grant Program under USDA Rural Development.
