U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., left, chats Thursday with Margaret Minerick, chairwoman of the Dickinson County Healthcare System Board. Stabenow toured the the hospital campus and had a listening session with DCH leaders, who thanked the senator for her efforts in securing a $16.9 million U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development loan authorized this spring. Stabenow was able to view new imaging, cardiac and cancer treatment equipment, including a Varian TrueBeam linear accelerator used in precision radiotherapy. Stabenow also toured the Oscar G. Johnson VA Medical Center in Iron Mountain, congratulating employees on the VA being voted the best facility in the nation for patient satisfaction. (Dickinson County Healthcare photo)

IRON MOUNTAIN — Radiation therapy for cancer patients will resume Monday at Dickinson County Healthcare System with installation of a new Varian TrueBeam linear accelerator.

Services have been outsourced over the past two months during the hospital’s conversion to the precision treatment system, said Chuck Nelson, DCH CEO. “It will be exciting for that to come online,” he told the hospital board Monday.

Plans are in place, tentatively, for an Oct. 12 community event at DCH to highlight several key projects, including an emergency department renovation scheduled for completion by early October. “Barring any COVID emergency, hopefully we can pull that off,” Nelson said.

A new CT scanner is in operation and new magnetic resonance imaging equipment should be in place by Sept. 21, he noted.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services currently reports no COVID-19 patients hospitalized at DCH, but Nelson said the hospital’s COVID-19 steering committee has resumed meeting as the delta variant spreads. Delta is more than two times as contagious as previous variants, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

UP Health System shows a total of eight COVID hospitalizations at three facilities in the region, including two in intensive care in Hancock.

Margaret Minerick, DCH board chair, said U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., toured the hospital Thursday and gave assurances a $16.9 million Rural Development loan first announced in March will come through soon.

“We will eventually close on that and we’ve been assured of that,” Nelson added.

Brian Donahue, chief financial officer, reported a strong month in July, with gross revenues coming in $650,000 ahead of budget and expenses just 1% higher than anticipated. The operating margin for the month was $300,000, he said.

“Things are looking pretty good,” he said. No year-to-date figures were stated.

Tamara Juul, executive director of the Dickinson County Hospital Foundation, said a renovation of hospital conference rooms — including better teleconferencing — is next on the list of foundation-funded projects.

Juul thanked hospital staff, vendors and area businesses for their support of the Scramble for the Health of It golf outing scheduled for Sept. 9 at Pine Grove Country Club. More information is available at https://www.dchs.org/about-us/foundation.