Mercy Medical Center opening new Heart Center this month

CEDAR RAPIDS — The $49 million Jewel & Jim Plumb Heart Center in Cedar Rapids will open to patients July 17.

The public is invited to visit the center --- at 810 Ninth Ave. SE, across the street from Mercy Medical Center — during an open house at 3 to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.

The 72,000-square-foot facility is designed to be Linn County’s largest and most comprehensive heart facility, offering integrated patient care and state-of-the-art technology in one location, the hospital said in a news release.

Additionally, the Plumb Heart Center will offer services ranging from prevention and screening to diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation. It will have specialty clinics offering education, ongoing assessments and individual care plans for patients with heart failure, atrial fibrillation, heart valve disorders and other illnesses.

Having a heart center in one location, hospital leaders said, will allow coordinated care among cardiology specialists.

The center’s ground level will have a large walking track designed for cardiac rehab. The track transitions directly to an outdoor walking space. Secondary oxygen sources are tucked into the area’s ceiling space to provide immediate access, if needed.

A 281-foot-long skywalk over Eighth Avenue SE — the longest skywalk in Eastern Iowa — will allow access from the heart center to Mercy hospital.

Among the center’s “soft” features for patients and their families are a “peace room” with stained-glass windows made by a local artist; a café that will offer coffee and food items; outdoor green space; and a large, ground-level conference room for meetings and community gatherings.

A main-floor focal point is a 99-foot-long, custom wall covering that mirrors the stained glass in the Mercy Medical Center’s main chapel.

The building, designed and built by Ryan Companies, is designed for vertical expansion, the hospital said. Construction began in September 2021.

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The Plumbs

The estate of the late Jewel and Jim Plumb of Cedar Rapids provided one of the largest gifts in Mercy’s history, with $23 million going to the naming and development of the heart center.

Jim Plumb, who died in 2004, was a graphic designer at Iowa Manufacturing Co., and an artist, painter and restorer of old cars. Jewel, a homemaker, died in 2019.