CHILLICOTHE, OHIO – Ross County residents now can receive leading-edge healthcare close to home with the opening of a new OhioHealth medical office in Chillicothe.
Located at 869 N. Bridge St., the 15,000-square-foot facility gives families access to heart and vascular specialists, primary care physicians and neurology services in a convenient, state-of-the-art setting. A second phase, scheduled to open in May, will bring additional services, including orthopedics and general surgery.
The building which opens on Valentine’s Day, contains multiple exam rooms, two full- service laboratories, X-ray equipment and treatment rooms for cardiac stress tests and echocardiograms.
Three heart and vascular physicians will work on a rotating schedule to provide full-time cardiovascular services five days a week. Two primary care physicians are available to see patients, with another two coming on board in the next year. Ultimately, six primary care providers will be on site, says Steve Davies, Senior Director of Operations for the South Region of the OhioHealth Physician Group. Initially, OhioHealth will offer virtual consultations with a neurology specialist, with the intent to bring a neurologist to the Chillicothe office in the near future.
Advanced practice providers, including clinical nurse practitioners and physician assistants, will complement the physicians’ work and provide the Ross County community with additional access to medical care.
“Our goal is to provide as many foundational services as possible, bringing specialties into the community,” Davies says. “Our desire to keep things close to home.” Patients who need to be seen at a hospital for additional testing and treatment will go to OhioHealth Berger Hospital in Circleville if services are available there, or to OhioHealth’s Columbus hospitals for procedures such as cardiac catheterization, he says. They can continue to receive follow-up care back in Ross County.
“We are very excited to start providing services and continue to improve the health of the community,” Davies says. To accommodate people’s work and school schedules, the medical offices will have extended hours.
Patients who need consultations with specialists such as gastroenterologists or neurosurgeons, whose schedules make it difficult to get an appointment, now can see them via virtual visits, Davies says. “They can come to our facility, and we’ll patch them through.”
A second phase is due to open in the spring and will offer orthopedics and sports medicine, general surgery, pain management and physical medicine and rehabilitation, bringing total care space to 23,000 square feet.
A mobile MRI unit will be on site three days a week, which is a much more cost-effective way to provide advanced imaging services to as many communities as possible, Davies says.
The new Chillicothe care site brings 25 fulltime jobs to Ross County, including positions for current OhioHealth employees who had been commuting to Columbus. The first phase represents a $4.5 million investment in Ross County, which is “indicative of our commitment to invest in the rural communities that we are in, not just what’s in the I-270 corridor,” Davies says.
To date, OhioHealth has contributed roughly $37,000 towards Ross County community sponsorships and engagement. OhioHealth Berger Hospital president Tim Colburn says OhioHealth is in conversations with community leaders and organizations about additional partnerships that will enhance the health of those in Ross County. “OhioHealth is committed to growing deep roots in Ross County through community engagement and keeping healthcare for patients local, whether it is in our new medical office or a short drive to OhioHealth Berger Hospital,” Colburn says.
