A hospital in rural Missouri broke ground on April 4, 2024, thanks in part to American Lending Center and its emphasis on rural healthcare.

Harrison County Community Hospital District in Bethany, Mo., launched the $75 million, two-year construction project this week. It will replace a 1955 hospital that doesn’t meet current code requirements and has infrastructure so old it cannot be further upgraded.

“We are thrilled to be making this announcement, as this facility would be the start of a new chapter for both our hospital and the community,” Tina Gillespie, CEO of the Harrison County Community Hospital District, said on the hospital’s website. “HCCH remains committed to our mission of providing exceptional care to every patient, every day. With this announcement, we are furthering that commitment by sharing our plans to improve access to quality care for our patients and the people of Bethany.”

Bethany is a small town between Kansas City, Mo., and Des Moines, Iowa, in a rural setting. It is the Harrison County seat.

The current hospital has fewer than 20 total beds, without room for expansion. Plans for the new hospital include 83,493 square feet with 14 surgical medical beds, an Emergency Department with six more rooms, and a behavioral health exam room. The site also will accommodate outpatient services and future expansion.

This hospital project qualifies for the federal EB-5 program by creating jobs – 453 construction jobs in this case -- in a rural area. ALC provides access to this source of capital through its regional centers – in this case the ALC Great Plains LLC. ALC is providing $10.4 million to complete the hospital’s construction loan.

“Bringing well-paying jobs to rural areas like this is the underlying goal of the EB-5 program,” said Scott Thompson, Vice President and Chief Lending Officer at ALC. “And the resulting new hospital will improve many lives for a long time to come. That’s a win-win.”

Construction is expected to take two years, with the new hospital opening in mid-2026.

For more information about ALC programs, email info2@americanlendingcenter.com.

About American Lending Center: A Financial Times (FT) Americas’ Fastest Growing Company

American Lending Center (ALC) is a private nonbank lending institution and nationally recognized leader in small business lending. By the end of 2022, ALC has fully financed senior loan products to 83 qualified EB-5 projects in 19 states, contributing to a combined construction and business expansion budget of over 1.2 billion dollars. ALC’s lending practice has successfully created more than 13,000 new jobs nationwide since 2009. In 2022, ALC launched its new rural construction and development fund with capital available for construction of fixed assets of all types in rural areas including manufacturing, energy, infrastructure, hospitality, specialty use, multi-use and other project types.

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Scott Thompson American Lending Center (562) 449-0139 scott.thompson@americanlendingcenter.com