By 1812Blockhouse, OhioHealth Release
As the home of two major hospitals in the OhioHealth chain, Richland County benefits from the specialties provided by that health organization, both locally and regionally.
Those benefits are increasing in the not-too-distant future, according to an announcement shared on Monday in Columbus.
OhioHealth has announced its plan to build a comprehensive women’s center to meet the complex and changing healthcare needs of women throughout the different stages of life. The goal of the OhioHealth Women’s Center is to provide a place of warmth, security and safety for all patients and their families while receiving the best quality care with confidence and familiarity.
The standalone center will become one of the leading facilities of its type in the country and will be constructed on the southeast corner of the OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital campus.
The almost 590,000 square feet inpatient and outpatient facility will be designed to care for women and their families by not only providing advanced maternity and neonatal intensive care services with a fourth trimester clinic, obstetric and gynecological services, but will also feature mid-life and bone health, urogynecology and female urology, and mammography services.
“At OhioHealth, the health and wellness of our patients and of all women in our community matter. We are honored to continue providing a variety of services by opening new doors for those we serve to be healed, to be sheltered, to be fed, to be seen, heard and to be cared for,” Vice President of the OhioHealth Women’s Health Clinical Service Line, Jason Melillo, MD, said, “This space will allow our clinicians and associates to build more and even stronger life-long relationships with their patients and families.”
For more than ten years, Riverside Methodist has been the busiest maternity hospital in the state of Ohio and delivered nearly 7,000 babies in 2022. As maternity volume at Riverside Methodist continues to grow, building a designated comprehensive women’s center is as much an opportunity as it is a necessity.
“Serving our patients at OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital with the best care and most welcoming, convenient, and comfortable experience is important for every person who walks through the doors,” Riverside Methodist president Rob Cercek said. “Our hope with the expansion of women’s care is to inspire staff, providers, and the community as a beacon of health, hope, and healing for women.”
The over $600-million capital investment for the OhioHealth Women’s Center project includes:
Inpatient and outpatient care (185 inpatient beds)
• Labor, Delivery, Recovery rooms
• C-Section
• High Risk Obstetrics
• GYN/Breast Surgery
• NICU
• Post-Partum
• Over 150,000 square feet of comprehensive and complementary ambulatory programming that brings together primary care, specialty care and support services to promote care coordination.
“When it comes to the structure of the building, both externally and internally, our intention is to bring in women’s voices, experiences and insights into the design and planning of the comprehensive center,” said Kristina Stuecher, OhioHealth Vice President and project executive of the OhioHealth Women’s Health Center. “We will be steadfast in our commitment to create spaces and experiences that are welcoming for all.”
In 2022, nearly 15,000 babies were delivered across the OhioHealth system. The goal of the center is to dedicate the diverse knowledge, backgrounds, and life experiences of our associates to the patients we serve. OhioHealth wants those who are delivering to know our associates have the expertise to support them and their loved ones through their birthing journey with the highest level of care with compassion, understanding and empathy.
Renderings Courtesy: Cannon Design
