SIDNEY, Neb. — Sidney Regional Medical Center was approved financing for a new long-term care facility and is now taking the next steps toward breaking ground.

SRMC CEO Jason Petik said $12 million of the $19.5 million-facility will be financed long-term with the USDA.

“The long-term financing has been approved through the USDA that’s 40-year financing at two and a half percent,” Petik said.

According to Petik, the next step is choosing a contractor. He said he hopes to have a contractor towards the end of the year.

“Then, we work through the final design with the architect and contractor,” Petik said. “Hopefully, all the moon and stars align and we’re putting shovels in the ground this spring.”

Petik said the new facility will help reach the needs of more residents and help nurses with efficiency.

“We did some time studies in the current facility and a nurse aid who is there eight hours a shift spends between three to four hours a day transferring their residents from their room to the dining room and back,” Petik said.

Not only was it less efficient but Petik said the windows, siding, and roofing would have needed repairs at the current care facility. He said the repairs would have cost from $8 to $10 million.

“Long-term care is provided a whole difference way than it was 20 years ago, even five years ago, and it’s going to continue to change moving forward and we just need to make sure we’re ready for that,” Petik said.

One of those changes to be made is adding a memory care facility with 19 beds for patients with Alzheimer's and dementia.

Petik said the hospital board takes giving back to its community seriously and has donated $100,000 to the community this year through 4-H programs, The Sidney Park Project, different schools in the area, and Pheasants Forever.