Mercy Health, which already operates medical centers in Clark and Champaign County like Springfield Regional Medical Center and Mercy Health Urbana Hospital, will host a community open house Sat. Sept 28 starting at 10 a.m. The event will end at 5:30 p.m.
The building will open Oct. 1. and will be a full-service emergency center. Its creation will bring several benefits including better access to healthcare for people who live on the east side of Clark County, township leaders and hospital representatives said.
It was clear to Mercy Health leaders that there was a need, said Director of Emergency Services for Mercy Health Springfield Ruth Shade.
“We looked at the communities around us and the Enon area did not have a lot of options for patient access and we felt that if we could bring emergency services it would be a huge benefit,” Shade said.
The facility is expected to draw patients from Enon, New Carlisle, Donnelsville, Fairborn, Medway and Yellow Springs. It will work as a department of Springfield Regional Medical Center, Shade said, and be a full-service emergency center with radiology, cat scan, a full laboratory, ultrasound and other care there.
“We will also have mammograms and MRI scanning capabilities,” she said.
The emergency center will also have a helipad, in case someone is in need of higher-level care. The helipad will allow medical helicopters to transport patients quickly to larger hospitals in the area.
The project has stayed on course since it began one year ago, Shade said. Final walkthroughs were taking place last week and will continue this week.
“We are still taking applications,” Shade said. “We had some internal staff from this emergency department in Springfield decide to take positions in Enon. So we have positions open here too.”
Shade said that while they are actively hiring for both local emergency departments, the hospital does anticipate being fully staffed when it opens.
“We are super excited to be able to provide care for that community,” Shade said. “We’ve worked long and hard and it’s been a great effort. I am going to be especially proud to expand our services.”
Mad River Twp.
Local officials in Mad River Twp., said with the new medical facility expected to open in October, it will expand the health care options available to residents, especially those being transported by the township’s EMS services.
“The addition of the free standing Emergency Department on Dayton-Springfield Road, will open up more avenues for Emergency Care for our residents and residents of surrounding communities,” Mad River Fire Chief Tim Wendling said in an email.
Currently, first responders transport patients in the area to a variety of medical facilities based on the nature of the emergency or on the patient’s preference, said Robert McClure Jr., a Mad River Twp. trustee.
However, residents are mostly transported to either the Soin Medical Center in Beavercreek or the Springfield Regional Medical Center. McClure said by having a medical center on the western outskirts of the township it will reduce response times for local emergency services.
“Treatment will be very close. It’s just on the edge of our township limits. The time and location could not be any better for us,” he said
Mary Lou Rizzotte, a long time Mad River resident, said she believes the new medical campus will be a good asset for the community since it will be closer for residents needing emergency medical services.
In terms of access to treatment, McClure said that a majority of Mad River residents live in the central and western parts of the township, placing them closer to the new facility than those that provide similar services in Greene County and other parts of Clark County.
Residents will still have their choice of hospitals to be transported to by the Mad River Twp. Fire and EMS Department. However, McClure said if first responders transport a patient to Soin Medical Center, for example, they are going to pass the new emergency facility.
He said that has caused discussion among local officials and Wendling on what firefighters should do in that case.
Bethel Twp.
The new medical campus won’t just help residents living in Enon and Mad River Twp. It will also provide faster service for some patients being picked up in Bethel Twp., Fire and EMS Chief Jacob King said.
“It’s great to have more accessibility for healthcare for anyone with emergency needs in our community,” he said. “Healthcare is extremely important.”
Residents who will likely want to go to the new emergency department due to the proximity live close to I-675, in the Medway area and near Lower Valley Pike, King said. Currently, those patients are usually choosing to go outside the county to get medical treatment, he said, to places like Huber Height Emergency Room and sometimes Soin.
They won’t have to do that anymore.
“I anticipate that we will have an increased number of patients that may choose that ER based on location,” he said. “And for us, with critical patients, it may be advantageous for us to utilize that facility.”
Patients will still have their choice of emergency departments to go to, King said, but choosing the closest hospital does help the department.
“If patients do choose to go to the new hospital there it will be a faster turnaround time for our medic units,” he said. “The faster we can bring patients to an appropriate medical facility and get back in service, it allows us to be ready to serve our community more.”
Future plans
Nanette Bentley, a Mercy spokeswoman, said the health network plans on adding medical office space to its new emergency department in the near future. She said that way they can add primary care and specialist providers to the location.
She said Mercy continues to grow its geographic market and is interested in expanding in communities such as Mechanicsburg, St. Paris and Urbana.
Fast Facts:
30: Full-time jobs created at Dayton Springfield Emergency Center
Sept. 28: Community open house at location from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Oct. 1: Dayton Springfield Emergency Center is set to open.
Continuing Coverage
The Springfield News-Sun broke the news of the new emergency center last year and has continued to give updates on the project.