Dickinson County Memorial Hospital (Theresa Proudfit/Daily News photo)

IRON MOUNTAIN — Even with costly equipment acquisitions coming online this summer, Dickinson County Healthcare System expects to be in a strong financial position as pandemic worries recede.

Brian Donahue, chief financial officer, told the hospital board Thursday that DCH has 63 days cash on hand, and anticipates that number will climb to 93 days in the months ahead.

A key factor is notification received Thursday from the U.S. Small Business Administration that a $9.1 million Paycheck Protection Program loan will be forgiven. PPP was established under the CARES Act in 2020 to help certain employers continue paying their workers.

The PPP borrowing was part of an array of pandemic assistance DCH received, helping it stay viable as COVID-19 led to reduced hospital usage, CEO Chuck Nelson said. With the virus now in decline, the hospital continues to maintain safe practices, he added.

A $16.9 million Rural Development loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture will fund the new equipment and other improvements, including an Athenahealth electronic medical records system introduced in May. Meanwhile, an emergency department renovation is headed toward completion in September.

The new equipment includes a linear accelerator for cancer therapy, a computed tomography scanner and updated magnetic resonance imaging. The linear accelerator is the latest version of the TrueBeam radiotherapy system and is “world-class,” Nelson said.

CT and MRI services are continuing during installation, which should be completed in July. The linear accelerator requires a temporary outsourcing of services but will be ready before September, Nelson said.

“At the end of summer, we will be one of the most advanced hospitals in the region,” he said. “In the end, it will be well worth it.”

DCH this week received closing instructions on the USDA loan, which was approved in March. “Hopefully, it will be imminent,” Donahue told the board.

Anticipating the loan proceeds, DCH went ahead in April and paid $10 million due to Fifth Third Bank, along with $1.8 million borrowed in early 2018 from Green Bay, Wis.-based Bellin Health Systems.

Hospital board member Kim Van Osdol praised DCH staff for their diligence in seeking out and securing pandemic aid.

“The government puts things there, but you have to go and get it,” he said. “The staff made it possible.”

Chairman Margaret Minerick likewise said that employees “the last year-and-a-half pulled us through.”

As of Dec. 31, 2020, DCH reported 84 days of cash on hand. That compared with 26 days in December 2018, when it launched a financial restructuring and began pursuing the Rural Development loan, unrelated to subsequent pandemic assistance in 2020 and 2021.