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Five weeks after floodwaters destroyed the two downtown businesses, the clinic and pharmacy will reopen Monday at a temporary facility.
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Josh Happel, of Rushford, cuts ceiling tiles, Tuesday, for installation at the new Rushford Clinic site. The clinic and Witt’s Pharmacy are setting up in the TRW building in Rushford.
(Photo by Melissa Carlo/Winona Daily News) |
They are looking at two locations in downtown Rushford, said Kristina Friederichs, Winona Health’s director of physician clinics.
“It’s been a difficult, nasty way of being forced into looking at opportunities, but you’ve got to find the silver lining,” said pharmacy owner Tom Witt. “It’s a really big deal to bring those prescriptions back into the community,”
The institutions were a medical hub for rural residents, serving about 200 people a day. For the past four weeks, those customers had to commute to Houston or Winona to get prescriptions and health care — not an easy task for flood victims — many of whom lost their vehicles, Friederichs said.
Construction workers put finishing touches on the temporary offices Tuesday as pharmacy employees hauled in a cash register and set up shelves.
While both businesses were closed by the flood, Witt and Friederichs never stopped working.
At 4 a.m. Aug. 19, Witt made his first trip to his flooded pharmacy to get emergency supplies for the Red Cross. He grabbed insulin, pain relievers and antibiotics not knowing exactly what was needed.
Freiderichs waded in chest-deep water to retrieve suture kits and epinephrine pens for bee stings, contracting an infection through a sore on her leg.
Witt and Friederichs realized the extent of the damage during the rush to help: submerged x-ray equipment in the clinic and customer records floating at the pharmacy.
The pharmacy lost a photo processor, its customer database for five locations, all over-the-counter drugs and half of the prescriptions drugs. Witt is waiting to see if state and federal emergency funds will cover his $700,000 in losses.
Witt credited many people and organizations with helping them reopen so quickly. JMW Enterprise gave up its space in the former TRW plant. The Mayo Clinic donated equipment, saving four to six weeks, Friederichs said.
Construction crews worked late nights and weekends erecting walls, installing plumbing and wiring.
The space works for the transition and some things will change. Physicians will have to share offices. There will be no radiology equipment. Witt’s will no longer carry food or a one-hour photo.
“We’re committed to making it work,” Friederichs said. “We can exist up here for some time decently, but we also know we want to rebuild so it’s another cornerstone for the community to build around.”
Contact reporter Amber Dulek at 507-453-3513 or amber.dulek@lee.net.
question wrote on Sep 27, 2007 1:37 PM: