WILMINGTON — Kettering Health representatives and local officials held a groundbreaking Monday for a new medical center to be built along Rombach Avenue.
The 32,000-square-foot facility is expected to open in summer 2023. Services that will be available include: a 24/7 emergency room; outpatient services including lab and imaging; and family medicine and specialty physicians.
Kevin Sharrett, MD told the crowd the emergency department will be staffed by board-certified emergency physicians of the Kettering Health team.
Also within the building will be primary care physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants who will provide primary care.
There will be over 30 exam rooms in the facility for patient care.
Specialty care that would be close to home is anticipated, too, said Sharrett.
“If the community will support it, we will do our best to bring it. … We want to respond to the community. We want to provide every bit of care that we can provide,” said Sharrett, a family medicine doctor.
He announced that work crews are renovating a space on the other side of Rombach as a “head-start” site expected to open this year in July. It will be a primary care office with six primary care providers, X-ray, and a lab.
This space is down from the Goodwill store (in the same shopping center).
Sharrett said, “Our goal is to have hometown providers taking care of hometown people.” Several providers are already signed up, he added, saying he will save that announcement for later, with one exception.
Longtime Wilmington physician John Hollon, MD was announced Monday as the newest addition to the Kettering Health rural health team and the newest addition to Kettering Health’s Wilmington primary care initiative.
Hollon spoke and noted Kettering has been a part of health care in Clinton County and vicinity “for years going back to the mid-1960s.”
Individuals from this community would go to the hospital in Kettering for specialized care and more, and there were specialists who came over here and still come over from Kettering to provide services in this area, said Hollon.
“This endeavor allows more direct and hometown care to be brought here and be fortified. They’re bringing in more providers, more expertise, more services, more choices — all this is going to improve the health care delivery to this community,” he said.
The facility will employ approximately 100 full-time positions, and is expected to cost $23 million to build, stated a Kettering Health news release.
Kettering Health CEO Fred Manchur said, “As the Clinton County seat, Wilmington is a vibrant and growing community. Their welcoming spirit and excitement for what Kettering Health will bring to their community has energized our team and exemplified our mission to improve the quality of life of the people in the communities we serve through healthcare and education.”
Wilmington Mayor John Stanforth said, “We’re just so honored and blessed that your company has made the decision to invest in our community.”
The groundbreaking ceremony began with a prayer from Wilmington Bible Baptist Church Pastor Josh Dixon. Life is a gift from God, he said, and it’s our duty not only to care for ourselves but also care for our neighbor.
The building will be constructed by Synergy Building Systems, with 146 parking spaces and 10 handicap spots. The property, currently vacant, is between First State Bank and the El Dorado Restaurant.
Kettering Health is a faith-based, not-for-profit health system.
Kettering Health is made up of 13 medical centers and more than 120 outpatient locations in western Ohio, as well as Kettering Physician Network — with more than 700 board-certified providers.
Kettering College, a division of Kettering Health Main Campus, is a fully accredited college that specializes in health science education. For more, visit ketteringhealth.org .
Reach Gary Huffenberger at 937-556-5768.
