Trinity Muscatine History

On July 1, 2009, Trinity gained the Muscatine campus when the former Unity HealthCare transferred ownership of its building and grounds to Trinity and Iowa Health System. Prior to the transfer Trinity had been providing management services to the hospital since May 2008.

Affiliating with a larger organization strengthened the hospital financially by increasing purchasing power, leveraging operational knowledge and broadening the scope of service for former Unity customers. The affiliation gave Muscatine the best chance to preserve local, quality health care by maintaining a viable hospital, which is critical to Muscatine County’s economic development.

The former Unity HealthCare was established on January 1, 1999, and was a not for profit organization that merged three distinct entities: Muscatine General Hospital, Muscatine Health Center and Community Nursing Services.

The proposal to merge these three groups began in 1992 and was extremely focused on community involvement and quality health care.

Muscatine General Hospital: This county hospital was constructed in 1954 by combining the former Hershey and Bellevue Hospitals. The hospital was licensed for 72 acute care beds and eight skilled care beds. At the time of integration, Muscatine General Hospital had annual revenues of approximately $28 million.

Muscatine Health Center: The Muscatine Health Center was developed in the early 1970s after the realization by the community that with only eight practicing physicians in the community there was a significant shortage. As part of a gift from Roy Carver, the center was developed that incorporated the use of physician’s assistants to bring competent medical care to rural America. More physicians were recruited to the area and the center grew to 20 physicians and an annual budget of $10 million.

Community Health Resources: Established in 1916 as a way to provide nursing services to the residents of Muscatine County, Community Health Resources had evolved their services over the years to meet the changing needs of the community. Services included hospice, private duty, public health, home care, maternal health care and visiting nurses, just to name a few. When Community Health Resources became a part of Unity HealthCare the organization had an annual budget of roughly $2 million.