Iowa medical center will break ground

Despite experiencing a lawsuit and accusations of inefficient pressure on central Iowa's medical infrastructure, Story County Medical Center is finally breaking ground for a new facility. Bids were opened for the facility in 2007, but the project was put on hold after a lawsuit was filed by Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield. The medical center had been allowed to move ahead with the project without a certificate of need from the Iowa Health Facilities Council, and Wellmark's lawsuit was a declaratory ruling to force the medical center through a full council review. The new medical center mostly serves residents of eastern Story County, and provides for more than 40,000 patient visits each year.