Winneshiek Medical Center donates land

The proposed new Sunflower Child Care and Discovery Center could be getting a new home. The Board of Trustees of Winneshiek Medical Center Wednesday afternoon unanimously approved donating up to four acres of hospital land to Sunflower.

Winneshiek Medical Center board member Karen McLean said switching the proposed development to the site on the hospital property would be much safer for parents dropping off their children than the current facility off Highway 9. She said it would also be a sign that WMC is a partner in the Decorah community.

The two sides have been discussing such a donation for the past two months. WMC Chief Administrative Officer Steve Slessor agreed that the cooperative effort would help large employers in the Decorah area, including Winneshiek Medical Center. He estimated that up to 40 percent of the WMC staff might take advantage of the child care center.

There were several provisions added to the offer of land. The location is a 8.5 acres property and WMC wants to make sure that the remaining land not used by Sunflower would still be usable by WMC. WMC also wants an appraisal conducted to provide the value of the land donation--something that Sunflower officials say would help their drive to get other donations. There are several other provisions which will have to be worked out in the coming months--especially that Sunflower now must raise enough money to begin construction on the property. So far volunteers have raised over $3 million in donations and governmental grants.

Original article can be found on: DecorahNews.com