By Andrea Cordle
Southwest Editor
Residents in Grove City and the surrounding areas will soon have even more health care options.
OhioHealth announced plans to build a freestanding emergency department and a surgical inpatient hospital in Grove City. The three-story hospital will be located on 22 acres of land, east of Interstate 71 on Stringtown Road, near State Route 104.
The Grove City hospital will include a 26-bed surgical hospital, which will be smaller in size than traditional hospitals. It will specialize in surgical care for patients needing a brief overnight stay.
“There is a growing demand from patients for healthcare to be delivered conveniently and in their own communities,” said Kristin McManmon, president of OhioHealth Neighborhood Care. “Our goal is to build a network of freestanding emergency departments that will allow people to receive emergency care in a more convenient setting, closer to home.”
The project will cost $46.5 million.
“OhioHealth has been caring for residents of Grove City for over three decades and we purchased this land over four years ago,” said Steve Markovich, OhioHealth senior vice president of central Ohio operations. “We’ve spent these years doing our due diligence to make sure we are bringing something to the community that they truly need, which is why we’re building a new type of hospital.”
According to Markovich, the Grove City hospital will focus on surgery and making it more convenient for local patients who typically would travel to one of the larger hospitals, like Grant or Riverside.
“This hospital will allow them to stay closer to home, while receiving high quality care in a surgical-focused hospital that is solely dedicated to their needs,” he said.
Grove City Mayor Richard “Ike” Stage said this is a major investment in the city and it is not the first time the city has worked with the company. In the late 1990s, OhioHealth committed to the community with a 50,000 square foot medical office complex on Stringtown Road.
“Grove City has a true appreciation for OhioHealth thanks to its history of serving our community for more than three decades,” said Stage. “OhioHealth’s new campus will not only significantly expand its medical services in our community, but will also provide road and infrastructure improvements to accommodate the needs of the project as well as the city’s long term planning needs of its primary east-west connector.”
According to OhioHealth, a TIF has been discussed that would improve and widen portions of Stringtown Road from the project site.
Kyle Rauch, development director for the city of Grove City, said plans to address the extra traffic include dual right lanes onto Interstate 71 and dual turn lanes onto Stringtown from I-71.
“That should help the traffic flow,” said Rauch. “We are taking measures to address the congestion.”
According to OhioHealth, construction on the ambulatory surgery center and medical office building will begin later this year. Early next year, construction will start on the surgical hospital and emergency department. The surgery center and medical offices will open in late 2017 and the hospital and emergency department are scheduled to open in late 2018.
Approximately 300 jobs will be created by the development of the Grove City project.
“This is going to increase tax revenue in the city and create a more complete community,” said Rauch.
