KEARNEY — The Aug. 31 termination of the contract between Blue Cross Blue Shield of Nebraska and CHI Health was the top news story of the year in 2014. The Kearney hospital, CHI Health Good Samaritan, is one of the 16 institutions in that network.
Blue Cross said it terminated the contract because CHI hospitals in Omaha charge 10 percent to 30 percent more than other providers in that city and have been unwilling to bring their costs in line. Blue Cross offered to sign new contracts at Good Sam and four other hospitals, but CHI rejected that offer. Late this fall, CHI hand-delivered a proposal to Blue Cross, but Blue Cross rejected it. No new talks are scheduled.
Last fall, CHI agreed to accept in-network amounts as payment in full from patients, but starting today, CHI will bill Blue Cross patients here the full amount for services. Blue Cross has said that as of today, it will pay benefits at in-network rates to subscribers who use Good Sam, but it will send checks directly to patients, who will then be responsible for paying their own medical bills.
Hy-Vee and more
At 6 a.m. April 29, Kearney’s first Hy-Vee supermarket opened at 5212 Third Ave. The $16.6 million, 90,712-square-foot supermarket has a sushi bar, a full-service restaurant, 900 produce items, numerous varieties of cheese and a pharmacy. The store opened with 470 employees, 140 of whom were full time. Its payroll was $7.8 million and its annual revenue was expected to be $67 million. It is open around the clock.
For the first two weeks, Hy-Vee employees were shuttled to the store from parking lots at the fairgrounds to keep the parking spaces open for customers. A convenience store, car wash and gas station were built on Second Ave. in front of the supermarket.
On March 4, SunMart at 3920 Second Ave. reopened as the Family Fresh Market. Its interior includes 30 historic photos of Kearney from the Buffalo County Historical Society, aisles named for Kearney streets, a Caribou Coffee counter, free wi-fi and the Platte Valley Cafe.
Kearney Regional Medical Center
On Feb. 13, Gov. Dave Heineman cut the ribbon at the $22 million Kearney Regional Medical Center at 804 22nd Ave. A group of doctors spent four years funding and building the hospital with the assistance of MDM, a Wichita, Kan.-based company.
KRMC opened with 22 patient rooms, four operating rooms, an imaging department, a cardiac/cath lab, endoscopy suite, pharmacy and more. This year, it plans to double the number of beds and add an emergency room, among other things.
Platte Valley Medical Group also moved from its space at CHI Health Good Samaritan into the 48,000-square-foot medical office building that adjoins KRMC.
Labor shortage
Among the signs of Kearney’s lingering labor shortage, unemployment rate hovered at less than 3 percent throughout 2014. Buffalo County’s unemployment rate often was the lowest in Nebraska and nationally.
Because of ongoing vacancies, businesses employed a variety of strategies to hire employees.
On Oct. 25, Baldwin Filters at 4400 E. Highway 30 had a job fair to fill 100 new positions to assist in manufacturing products for the national CarQuest chain. Also at Baldwin, construction continued on its 400,000-square-foot, $40 million distribution center set to open in 2015. It will nearly double the plant’s size to 1 million square feet.
When Kearney business leaders discussed the labor shortage, a second topic that often arose was another Kearney challenge — adequate housing.
Restaurant shuffle
Construction began in December on Kearney’s first Buffalo Wild Wings, which will open at 52nd Street and Third Avenue in mid-2015. Bico’s Bistro, serving Creole, Italian and Spanish dishes at 3012 W. Highway 30, opened Aug. 4 bearing the same name as the restaurant that opened there 61 years earlier. On Feb. 25, Napoli’s, an 80-seat Italian restaurant, opened at 320 Third Ave. Erbert & Gerbert’s, a sandwich shop, opened June 5 at 2715 Second Ave.
In the spring, Barista’s Daily Grind at 2301 13th Ave. was purchased by its general manager Jasmin McGinness and her brother-in-law Edgar Cruz.
Elsewhere, Katie Moore purchased Sweetwater Mill at 2400 Central Ave. and reopened it as Chapman Swift’s Coffee House. Jimmy John’s at 2524 First Ave. was closed briefly for remodeling. The Barista at SoZo, a coffee shop, opened in November at the Holiday Inn at 110 Second Ave.
Two restaurants closed late this fall. Carlos O’Kelly’s Mexican Cafe at 119 Third Ave., closed Nov. 16, and USA Steak Buffet at 404 Third Ave. locked its doors Dec. 3. Outrageous Cakes and Cupcake Shoppe closed at 1923 Central Ave. after seven prosperous years in business.
Hotels open, remodel
On Jan. 27, Gov. Dave Heineman cut the ribbon at the new four-story, 120-room Hampton Inn at 507 Talmadge Street. Three days earlier, the former Days Inn at 1010 Third Ave. was sold to 7 Hospitality at 516 W. 11th St. and re-opened as a Boarders Inn and Suites. The 68-room hotel closed Dec. 17 for extensive renovations and will re-open in 2015 as a boutique hotel with a Japanese restaurant and shops.
Date: January 1, 2015