The gift, the second-largest in Iowa Health-Des Moines’ history, advances plans; some hurdles remain

Iowa Health-Des Moines said Regency Homes founder Michael R. Myers and his family have pledged to give it $15 million to help pay for a new hospital in West Des Moines.

The gift would cover about a third of the construction costs for the facility and is the second-largest donation that Iowa Health has ever received. In total, Iowa Health has said the proposed 83-bed hospital would cost about $83 million.

The Myers family donation somewhat alleviates concerns that a new facility would lead to higher costs for health care in Greater Des Moines. It also adds to a legacy of large private gifts to Iowa Health, which in the past have helped build Blank Children’s Hospital and the John Stoddard Cancer Center at Iowa Methodist Medical Center. Both facilities are part of Iowa Health’s Des Moines network. The Stoddard gift, which totaled $34 million, was the largest in the health care group’s history, according to Jon Ferchen, an Iowa Health spokesman.

“Our father has always said that with success comes responsibility,” said Robert Myers, who with his older brother, James, announced the gift on Thursday at the West Des Moines City Hall.

Michael Myers and his wife, Linda, were in Florida and not present at the announcement. Regency Homes, which is in the process of building a new headquarters in West Des Moines, has constructed hundreds of homes in that city.

The Myers gift is the latest chapter in a long story of thus-far frustrated efforts to build a hospital in Des Moines’ quickly growing western suburbs.

The health care group, which would construct the hospital on land it owns near the intersection of 60th Street and University Avenue, has been trying for years to build the facility. Its most recent effort, which involved a plan to jointly construct a hospital with its chief rival, Mercy Medical Center, was scuttled last month due to antitrust concerns by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Iowa Health now needs permission from state regulators to move ahead and begin construction. Led by Chief Executive Eric Crowell, Iowa Health plans to update its application for a state license.

Iowa Health filed for the certificate of need application 10 months ago, but the massive application has languished as it spent the winter months working with Mercy Medical Center to find a way to work together. Some cost estimates have changed because of the delay, and new items, including details of the Myers’ pledge, must be added to the application.

“I am the happiest man in Central Iowa right now,” Crowell said.

In order to win the certificate of need, Iowa Health must demonstrate that there is a need for a hospital in West Des Moines. Crowell and other hospital officials have said their hospitals are nearly always full and that a new facility would alleviate bed shortages and bring more comprehensive health care to residents in the western suburbs.

Plenty of unknowns remain. First, it isn’t clear that Iowa Health will get the license. Des Moines hasn’t had a new hospital in decades.

Another wild card is Mercy, which owns land across 60th Street from the Iowa Health site and has said it is studying whether to build a competing hospital there.

There has also been opposition from some business leaders, including Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield Chief Executive John Forsyth, who has said both Mercy and Iowa Health ought to first concentrate on becoming more efficient before they build new facilities.

If Iowa Health is granted the license, Crowell said, construction on the hospital could begin by next spring. It would be called the Michael R. Myers Hospital.

James Myers said the money for the hospital would be available to Iowa Health even if state regulators deny a license to build the facility.

“There will be a time when this hospital will be needed in the western suburbs,” he said. “If it doesn’t happen this year, then maybe it will the next.”