KEARNEY, Neb. — 10 years ago, Kearney Regional Medical Center welcomed its first patient. Today, the hospital broke ground on a new addition valued at more than $30 million.

Co-founder Dr. Merlin Wehling says the hospital’s growth has exceeded even the founders’ expectations.

“Initially, in our mind, it was going to be a small community hospital with about 10 or 12 beds. By year five, we had exceeded that by a factor of four and here we are we’re talking about 120 beds. It’s exciting, it’s awesome.”

The addition is an in-patient two-story tower. The first floor will include conference rooms, an infusion clinic, cardiac and pulmonary rehab and pulmonary function testing. The second floor will offer 25 beds for orthopedic patients.

Interim CEO Danny Van Ranken says it’s a repose to the community’s needs.

“This place has a very passionate workforce that’s dedicated to high quality care. We always pride ourselves with being able to offer big-city medicine with a small-town feel. Obviously, the community that we serve has responded well to that.”

The addition is the start of what Wehling calls Kearney Regional 3.0.

“I don’t think this is going to be the end of our growth at Kearney Regional, but it’s a big step and it’s going to solve a lot of problems to be able to get more patient care right here.”

Hospital officials expect the addition to be finished by late next year or early 2026.