Preliminary Market and Cost Analysis of a Five-Station Hemodialysis Facility in Marengo, Iowa

This report was commissioned by the Marengo Memorial Hospital to evaluate the market potential for a new kidney dialysis facility. Marengo Memorial Hospital is a rural hospital located in Marengo, a town of 2,535 people in north central Iowa County, Iowa (see the star in Map 1). In 2001, the hospital reported a capacity of 25 acute-care beds, 228 admissions, 8,485 inpatient admission days, and 8,750 outpatient visits. Marengo Memorial Hospital intends to add space in order to expand its wellness, health maintenance, and community programs. One of the options for use of this added space is a fivestation hemodialysis facility. Our primary goal is to determine whether there is enough current and anticipated demand for in-center hemodialysis services within the immediate area and surrounding region to support such a facility. Our secondary aim is to determine the utilization levels at which a five-station hemodialysis facility's operations can be self-financed. For the purposes of this report, it is assumed that suitable facility space will be included in hospital expansion, regardless of whether the space is utilized for dialysis operations. This report focuses on the potential market for and operational costs and revenues associated with the proposed dialysis facility.