Jamestown Regional Medical Center and the community of Jamestown rely on each other for support, according to Mike Delfs, president and CEO of the JRMC.

“Jamestown moving forward helps us immensely,” he said. “As Jamestown moves forward, it gives us the ability to do more.”

Jamestown leaders said the JRMC helps the community grow and can provide services that keep the community viable.

“It is extremely important for growth,” said Jamestown Mayor Dwaine Heinrich. “They have done a fantastic job in how they have grown.”

Jerry Bergquist, former Stutsman County emergency manager and current chairman of the Stutsman County Commission, said JRMC is important for survival, not just growth.

“It is critical to the community,” he said. “I honestly can’t see how the community survives without it.”

Delfs said JRMC has a geographic advantage with a location about 100 miles from major medical facilities to the east and west.

“Geography provides us opportunities that other small hospitals don’t have,” he said. “A small hospital 30 miles from Fargo, for example, would not have the opportunity to grow that we have.”

Clients come from a wide geographic area, ranging from New Rockford to the north, Edgeley to the south, Valley City to the east and Steele to the west. This gives the JRMC a patient base significantly larger than the Jamestown population even if Jamestown is the biggest community in the area, Delfs said.

It is the people in Jamestown and the rest of the service area that provide the input for the new projects and growth the JRMC has been seeing over the past years.

“Our services originate with the community asking for it,” Delfs said. “We are really happy we are able to bring to the community something they wanted, they needed.”

The oncology department is one of the recent additions to the menu of services at JRMC.

“It was a big push and has far exceeded our goals,” he said. “I guess that I’m both happy and saddened by that.

Delfs clarified he was happy people in the community were finding the services useful but saddened by the number of people fighting cancer.

Other specialties include obstetrics-gynecology, orthopedics, ear, nose and throat and advanced podiatry services.

Some specialties are provided by medical providers employed by JRMC. Providers for other specialties work at JRMC independently and have contractual relationships with the hospital.

“We just hired a second orthopedic surgeon,” Delfs said. “Under her practice, we should see the first outpatient knee replacement surgery.”

Delfs referred to this procedure as “same day knees” and indicated the patient would return home the same day as the knee replacement surgery.

A new foot and ankle surgeon has also been hired to start later this summer.

From a practical standpoint, the hospital has hired as many specialists as it can at this point but will continue to explore partnerships to offer new services, Delfs said.

New medical providers can bring new skills and procedures to the community, he said.

Corry Shevlin, CEO of the Jamestown/Stutsman Development Corp., said the full slate of medical services is very important to the current residents and also any people that businesses may try to recruit to the community.

“It is important for any age,” he said. “Families and older people are probably most concerned by health care.”

The hospital also works hard at keeping up with the latest medical technology recently adding enhanced mammography.

“JRMC was the first in the state to do 3D mammography,” said Bev Fiferlick, JRMC chief financial officer. “The new contrast-enhanced technology reduces the need for biopsies.”

Delfs said they are always exploring technology that makes sense for the hospital.

“We are very much into the tech,” he said. “We have some new MRI software and other upgrades.”

They have also received some new ultrasound equipment as part of a grant.

“We’ve seen huge changes in the technology,” Delfs said. “AI (artificial intelligence) is more intuitive.”

The cutting-edge equipment in Jamestown reduces travel time and expenses for some people.

“This equipment is huge for any patient that needs those services,” Delfs said.

JRMC has also tried to streamline the process of the patient making contact with the specialist.

“We are trying to remove the need for a referral appointment from the patient’s regular doctor,” Delfs said. “Let them make an appointment directly with the specialist.”

Delfs said this process provides easy access for the patient to the specialist but is not always available.

Fiferlick said the obstetrics services offered by JRMC can be important in attracting young families to the Jamestown area.

“Imagine you are recruiting a young new teacher,” she said. “What will that person think if they have to drive 80 miles, maybe in the winter, to have a baby delivered?”

Delfs said it is not just the range of services offered by the JRMC that is important.

“We provide an extremely high quality of health care,” he said. “That helps the businesses recruit new hires.”

JRMC recently received the Human Experience Guardian of Excellence Award from Press Ganey. The award is presented to medical facilities in the top 5% of physician experiences.

JRMC has also received a Top 20 Critical Access Hospital for 12 consecutive years. Critical Access Hospitals are defined as hospitals with 25 beds or less that are reimbursed by government payers based on allowable expenses.

Delfs said the hospital focuses on maintaining good morale and culture among its employees. One recent addition is a special relaxation room for staff breaks.

“We like to get talented people in,” he said. “We give them the tools to remain engaged while they are here.”