Two large donations kickstart plans for Well-Being Center in rural central Minnesota

Plans are underway to construct a 12,000-square-foot, $4.5-million Regional Community Well-Being Center located adjacent to the new hospital and clinic in Long Prairie.

CentraCare Health will contribute $1.3 million to this project with the remaining balance coming from a $3.2 million capital campaign.

Two donors have already come forward with large gifts.

Tom Rosen, CEO of Rosen’s Diversified, Inc. (RDI) and Chairman of RDI’s philanthropic arm, The Rosen Family Foundation has pledged $250,000 to the Well-Being Center. This foundation also provided a $500,000 gift for the medical campus capital campaign in 2016.

The Rosen Family Foundation served as a catalyst for an anonymous donor to pledge $500,000. This donor is now challenging the community to raise an additional $500,000 in matching funds.

This innovative community facility will include a community/outpatient physical therapy gym and warm-water therapy pool, locker rooms, showers, fitness studio and wellness demonstration kitchen. The hospital’s Rehabilitation Department will be relocated to the Well-Being Center as well.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, rural Americans are more likely to die from heart disease, cancer, unintentional injury, chronic lower respiratory disease and stroke than their urban counterparts. They also tend to have less nutritional diets, exercise less, weigh more and smoke more. CentraCare Health hopes to change this trend.

“We are so pleased that we received this wonderful $500,000 anonymous gift and that The Rosen Family Foundation has pledged a second gift to our health care facilities in Long Prairie,” said Dan Swenson, administrator of CentraCare Health – Long Prairie. “Through their remarkable generosity, these donors are helping CentraCare lead the way in changing the model of wellness in rural communities. We strongly encourage residents consider donating to help us reach the matching fund challenge.”

“I have been amazed by what CentraCare Health has been able to accomplish in terms of population health in Todd County,” Rosen noted. “I am happy to support a project that will provide a long-lasting, positive impact for the Long Prairie community and advances a model of wellness that health care organizations can emulate in other rural communities. I am especially pleased that this includes and will benefit our local team members at Long Prairie Packing Co. LLC.”

This collaborative project is community-driven and endorsed by numerous partners located within the greater Long Prairie region and serves a number of special populations including older adults, persons of color, low-income and those with disabilities and/or chronic health conditions.

The timeline to reach the funding goal is March 2018 with construction beginning in June 2018, provided the funding has been secured. The anticipated opening is March 2019.

For additional project information or giving opportunities to support this project visit www.CentraCare.com/WellnessWins.