ALL’S WELL AT CENTER

Sharon Regional’s new facility features accessibility of specialists

By WILLIAM K. ALCORN

VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER

HUBBARD — The new $1.7 million satellite medical center here is the face of health-care reform, said the head of Sharon Regional Health System.

The Hubbard Diagnostic and Specialty Center, which occupies 11,500 square feet in the former Nemenz/IGA food store at 880 W. Liberty St., will open for business at 7 a.m. Monday. A public open house is from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Feb. 7.

The focus is on wellness and the accessibility of specialists and diagnostics working in concert with family physicians, said John A. Zidansek, president and chief executive officer of Sharon Regional, which operates the facility.

The center brings specialty physicians to Hubbard in the area of cardiology, general surgery, sports medicine and orthopedic surgery, he said.

It also offers a full complement of diagnostic tests, including X-ray, ultrasound, laboratory services, presurgical testing and electrocardiograms, physical/hand therapy and sports rehabilitation, and a heart center for advanced cardiac testing, Zidansek said.

The heart center, which provides about a dozen new jobs, is a satellite of Sharon Regional’s Heart and Vascular Institute and offers cardiac services through the health system’s Sharon Cardiology Specialists, one of whom is cardiologist Dr. Michael Burley.

“The Hubbard center’s cardiac unit does advanced cardiac testing and offers everything short of heart surgery. It is a speciality referral center with diagnostic capabilities,” Dr. Burley said.

The center also houses a satellite of Sharon Regional Sports Medicine Services. Its physical-therapy room is designed to be attractive to athletes while they are being treated, said Karen Piccirilli, director.

There will be banners from area high schools, and there are large flat-screen televisions on the walls and artificial indoor football turf on the floor, said Piccirilli, who also is director of Sharon Regional’s Diagnostic and Imaging Center in Hermitage, Pa.

Originally from the Sharon area, Dr. Keith Lustig, an orthopedic surgeon, came back in 2008 to establish the Sports Medicine Clinic at Sharon Regional.

Dr. Lustig, who started his practice in Erie, Pa., was affiliated with the Hamot Medical Center in Erie and helped start its sports medicine unit.

“Two things we learned at Hamot were that athletes want someone treating them who can relate to their experience, and to be seen as soon as possible,” he said.

Dr. Lustig, one of several orthopedic surgeons available to the Hubbard center, was a high school athlete and has coached at the youth, high school and college levels and has been a sports team doctor.

The center’s hours are 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The telephone number for all services is (330) 534-5400.

Work on converting the former grocery store into the Hubbard Diagnostic and Specialty Center began in September. Architect for the project was Thomas J. Keller of Canfield, and the general contractor was Hudson Construction of Hermitage.

alcorn@vindy.com