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Kids helped break ground for expansion at Akron Children's MV
BOARDMAN
Akron Chil- dren’s Hospital Mahoning Valley celebrated its seventh year in Boardman with a “A Children’s Holiday” event that included a tree-lighting, a visit by Santa Claus and a ceremonial ground-breaking – with the help of kids – for an $18.6 million expansion project.
The official ground-breaking for Phase I, the first of a four-phase project that will span the next several years, is expected early in 2016. Completion is projected for April 2017, hospital officials said at Thursday’s celebration.
Phase I includes a two-story, 51,000-square-foot expansion to Building A, renovations to portions of
the building and creation of a new entrance for the Beeghly Campus. Overall, the project’s first phase will add 47 exam rooms, including subspecialty and primary care, and a new service – sports rehabilitation.
No date has been set for starting the $20-million to $22-million Phase II of the project, primarily renovation, at Beeghly Campus, 8423 Market St.
Ground was scheduled to be broken for Phase I in the fall, but was delayed when residents in the hospital area expressed concerns about potential noise and parking problems.
Though Akron Children’s went ahead with the ceremonial ground-breaking Thursday, the hospital still is waiting for permits from the township, an official said.
Officials also have said that the two-story expansion of Building A will accommodate subspecialty practices currently housed in its medical office building at 8423 Market St., make patient care more seamless and convenient for patients’ families, and accommodate growth in those practices, said Sharon Hrina, vice president of Akron Children’s Mahoning Valley.
Thursday’s event was “an opportunity to celebrate the holiday season and reflect on our blessings, including our caring families and the way the Mahoning Valley has embraced us,” said Bill Considine, Akron Children’s president and chief executive officer.
“We’ve touched the lives of thousands of children, and they have touched us,” he said.
“When I think back seven years, I couldn’t have imagined the growth of the facilities and medical services in the Mahoning Valley,” said Bruce Beeghly, co-chairman of the Vision for Our Valley’s Children Leadership Committee along with his wife, Nancy, and Paul and Sallie Tod Dutton.
It also has been an economic boon. Akron Children’s has demonstrated its commitment to the community, Beeghly said.
“It’s our way of saying thanks to the community. We try to do things through the eyes of children with facilities and care and fulfill our mission of treating every child as if he were ours and never turning a child away for any reason,” Considine said.
Thursday’s celebration also was done with children in mind.
They wore reindeer antlers while singing Christmas songs, wielded plastic shovels to help with the ceremonial ground-breaking, enjoyed a visit from Santa Claus, and there was hot chocolate and cookies for those who wanted them.