Photo by Deb Gau Granite Falls Mayor Dave Smiglewski, second from left, said becoming part of a larger health system would allow Granite Falls Health to continue to offer quality medical care in the long term. Smiglewski, together with Dr. Mark Eakes of Avera Medical Group Granite Falls, Mark Henderson of the Avera Granite Falls Board, Avera Granite Falls Administrator Tom Kooiman, and Avera Marshall Regional Board chairwoman Joyce Strootman (not pictured), held a press conference on the Granite Falls Health sale on Thursday afternoon.

GRANITE FALLS — Over 60 years, the community of Granite Falls has built up its own local health system, Mayor Dave Smiglewski said. Over time, the system grew to include a 25-bed hospital, a clinic, a skilled nursing center, a senior living community and a home health care agency.

With a change of ownership, those health services will continue into the future, officials said.

“We went into this knowing we wanted to continue with great, compassionate care,” said Avera Granite Falls Board member Mark Henderson.

On Thursday, representatives of Avera and the city of Granite Falls formally announced that Granite Falls Health is now a subsidiary of Avera Marshall Regional Medical Center. The change took effect Jan. 1.

“Today is really the culmination of a very lengthy process,” Smiglewski said.

Granite Falls Health announced in September that it would enter a letter of intent to partner with Avera Marshall. That step came after a community task force, formed in 2018, looked into potential partnerships with four different health systems.

Smiglewski and Avera Granite Falls representatives said Avera was a good fit for a partner. The Avera health system had a similar vision to Granite Falls Health, and Avera has a commitment to rural health care, they said. Avera Marshall Regional President and CEO Mary Maertens said Granite Falls Health was also a positive choice for a partner — it was in a good financial position, brought strong health care knowledge and resources to the table, and was geographically close to the Avera Marshall region.

“Granite Falls brings a lot to the region, and to the health system,” Maertens said.

Dr. Mark Eakes of Avera Medical Group Granite Falls said joining Avera won’t mean much change for patients. Granite Falls Health employees are becoming Avera employees, and the names of health care facilities will change.

“For the average person out there, the only thing that’s going to change is the name,” Eakes said.

As of Wednesday, the new facility names are Avera Granite Falls Health Center, the Avera Medical Group clinic, the Avera Granite Falls Care Center, and Avera Granite Ridge Senior Living. The home health agency is now called Avera Granite Falls Home Health.

While Granite Falls Health is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Avera Marshall, the city will continue to own the buildings and properties, Kooiman said. Avera Granite Falls will lease the properties, and Avera Health will guarantee the lease. As part of the lease agreement, Avera will cover debt on the Granite Falls long-term care center, he said.

Kooiman said the partnership with Avera also opens up the possibility of building an updated hospital, on 30 acres of land near the Care Center. As a standalone system, Granite Falls Health’s capital needs exceeded its debt capacity, he said.

Joining Avera will be positive for health care in the Granite Falls area, officials said.

“Health care is becoming increasingly complex,” Smiglewski said in a statement. “Small local systems deal with ongoing challenges such as aging facilities, recruitment and retention of health care professionals, mounting federal regulations and changing payment models.”

Integrating with a larger system would give Granite Falls Health a better chance to face those challenges, Kooiman said.

“Now we have a lot more resources at our fingertips, that we didn’t have as a standalone facility,” Kooiman said. Joining Avera Marshall will also help in recruiting new physicians and employees to Granite Falls, he said.