Friday, September 16, 2016
AUSTINTOWN
Akron Children’s Hospital Pediatrics in Austintown, which opened Aug. 2, is the fifth outpatient facility in the Mahoning Valley and the 27th pediatrics out-patient unit overall owned and operated by Akron Children’s Hospital.
An official ribbon cutting Thursday celebrated the opening of the Austintown facility at 5480 Norquest Blvd. and state Route 46.
The Austintown site is seeing an average of 30 patients a day, and officials estimate that about 2,000 patients will receive primary care there annually.
Among those helping William Considine, Akron Children’s president and chief executive officer, cut the ribbon were patients at the Austintown office: Ian Hunter, 17, of Lowellville, son of Melissa Hunter; and Bradley and Dominic Wallace, 6 and 4, sons of Toni and Aaron Wallace of Mineral Ridge.
In addition to Austintown, Akron Children’s Hospital Pediatrics has facilities in the Mahoning Valley in Boardman, Lisbon and two in Warren. More than 25,000 pediatric patients call one of these locations their medical home, officials said.
All locations offer primary care for babies, children and teens, including well-child visits and routine checkups, immunizations, sports, school and camp physicals, treatment for illness and injury and chronic disease management.
“One of the strengths of Akron Children’s Hospital Pediatrics is that it creates more access to and brings pediatric-age patients closer to treatment,” said Dr. Elena Rossi, neonatologist and associate chair of pediatrics at Akron Children’s.
The hope is that the Austintown pediatrics facility, situated in a dense population of pediatric-age patients, will attract patients from Lake Milton, North Jackson, Niles and Canfield and other area communities, said Dr. Rossi.
Considine said he is excited to make another investment in pediatric health care in the Mahoning Valley.
Akron Children’s spent about $250,000 to remodel the former doctor’s office in which Akron Children’s Hospital Pediatrics Austintown is located.
Two pediatric physicians, Drs. Erin Donley, M.D., and Jessica Tattershall, D.O., and a support staff of five work at the Austintown pediatric facility.
Dr. Donley, originally of Conneaut, Ohio, did her undergraduate work at Youngstown State University before graduating in 2005. She graduated from the Northeast Ohio Medical University in 2009. She has been with Akron Children’s for four years.
Dr. Tattershall, originally of Pittsburgh, graduated from the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine and did her residency at Akron Children’s.
Considine concluded by saying the mission of Akron Children’s is to “provide medical care to infants, children, adolescents and burn victims of all ages, regardless of ability to pay; to treat every child like our own and treat families the way we would want to be treated.”