There is a growing belief in the health care community that by 2020, one in three hospitals will close or reorganize into an entirely different type of health care service provider. Becker’s Hospital Review reports that hospitals and health systems in the United States are undergoing a dramatic shift in their business models due to a number of forces that are expected to eventually turn the industry on its head.
Just a quick glance at the outside of the Madelia Lumber Company shows what values drive owner Matt Gunderson’s personal life and business philosophy. Placed right underneath the store’s name is a giant Marine Corps emblem, a testament to Gunderson’s four years in the Marines—as well as the military service of many of his employees.
You won’t find many people outworking 23-year-old Krystal Spinler, who purchased the Mexican restaurant in Madelia in January and renamed it La Plaza F!esta.
In an era of big-box stores and impersonal service, Dr. Viktoria L. Davis enjoys providing individualized eye care to patients who recognize her as a fellow resident of Madelia, population about 2,200. Her patients see her with her family in the grocery store or at Madelia Public Library. In addition to her professional website, there’s a personal website loaded with family photos and only one picture of the optometry office. Her patients are eager for this glimpse into the life of Viktoria Davis, wife and mother. It’s obvious, too, which website she values more.
There have been offers—several in fact, including offers from big companies with big budgets. And although each offer has been seriously contemplated by the board of directors, the Madelia Community Hospital has resolutely remained independent.
With computers elbowing workers aside and manual labor often reduced to nothing more than pushing buttons, automated production dominates many manufacturing processes today.
But Floyd Forstner and a handful of employees still fashion fire trucks by hand, one at a time, every one different, in an 81 year-old shop on the edge of downtown Madelia. They start with a cab and chassis purchased from a major automotive manufacturer and custom-build the rest. The first truck born in that shop in 1940 still sees limited service with the Madelia Fire Dept.
