Leaders from Mercy Medical Center and the city of Marion hailed the completion of Mercy’s new freestanding emergency room (ER) in Marion as “a direct response to the needs of our community” during a ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday, Nov. 15.
Dr. Timothy Quinn, president and CEO of Mercy Medical Center, noted that the new ER, at 999 35th St. in Marion, is Mercy’s second freestanding ER in the Cedar Rapids metro area, joining the ER at 1195 Boyson Road in Hiawatha, which opened in August 2020 as Iowa’s first ER available outside of a hospital-based setting.
“When we opened the first one in Hiawatha, it was a brand-new concept for Iowa,” Mr. Quinn said at the ribbon-cutting, which drew about 150 invited attendees. “We have had incredibly positive feedback from the community. Patient satisfaction continues to be incredibly high. It’s a lot about having availability where people live, and we want to be able to have that same level of service here in Marion.”
The ribbon-cutting ceremony was followed by a community open house Saturday, Nov. 16 at the new ER facility, situated next to the MercyCare Marion Family Practice and Urgent Care in Marion.
Beginning Dec. 2, the Mercy Marion ER will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with services including 12 exam and 2 trauma rooms, blood-draw and other lab services, imaging services including X-ray, ultrasound and CT scans, and trauma level care as needed.
Like the Mercy Hiawatha ER, patients at the Marion location that require additional hospital intervention will be transferred free of charge to Mercy’s downtown Cedar Rapids location.
Dr. Matthew Aucutt, emergency department medical director for Mercy Medical Center, said the Marion facility will address a growing need, confirmed through consumer research, that patients are looking for quick emergency care closer to their homes.
“(Based on) what we learned from our experience at Hiawatha, there’s several things we’ve incorporated into this building to provide better care and experience to our patients,” Dr. Aucutt said. “Health care is challenging as it’s ever been, and at Mercy, we continue to look at new and better ways to deliver health care to meet the needs of our patients and our community.”
Marion Mayor Nick AbouAssaly said the new ER is “like a mini-hospital” for Marion, now the 13th largest city in Iowa.
“We want to thank Mercy for your partnership, for expanding your roots here, for investing in our community and helping us to better serve people,” Mr. AbouAssaly said. “In a time of true emergency, that drive downtown can seem like it’s a long time. I’ve done it with my kids, and it can just be a long drive. So having this close access is so essential.”
“This facility is not just a building, it’s an embodiment of the Mercy Medical Center’s ongoing commitment to meet the needs of those we serve,” added Nancy Kasparek, president of the Mercy Medical Center Board of Trustees. “For nearly 125 years, we’ve been guided by the vision of the Sisters of Mercy to care for the sick, to serve with compassion and to place resources where they are needed most. Opening this new freestanding ER is a direct response to the needs of our community. Our goal has always been to ensure that individuals and families have access to care that’s both excellent and convenient. Today, we’re taking another step in that direction by investing in this facility. We are expanding critical health care access for the Marion area, just as we did with our Hiawatha location four years ago.”
