Mercy Health debuts Howland Medical Center

By WILLIAM K. ALCORN

alcorn@vindy.com

HOWLAND

Trumbull County’s newest medical facility, the $14.5 million Mercy Health-Howland Medical Center, is scheduled to begin accepting patients Monday and May 1.

During a ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday at the facility at 1932 Niles-Cortland Road N.E. (state Route 46), hospital officials said services that will be available as of Monday are Howland Primary Care, Howland Ear, Nose & Throat, Howland Audiology and lab services.

Services slated to be ready for patients on May 1 include physical medicine and rehabilitation, diagnostic imaging and Howland Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine.

A community open house is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.

The outpatient facility is an extension of St. Joseph Warren Hospital and another way the hospital is bringing services to the places where members of the community live, work and play, said Kathy Cook, president of both facilities.

The purpose of Howland Medical Center is to make access to health care easier and more convenient by having primary care and specialists and sub-specialists under one roof and adjacent to the Mercy Health-Howland Surgery Center and Howland Pain Medicine, said Cook.

The second floor of the 50,000-square-foot building is unoccupied, but within one or two years will be readied to accept more primary-care doctors, she said.

“It’s good to locate the various sub-specialists under one roof,” said Dr. William Woods, orthopedic surgeon.

Access to care and better coordinated care are among the pluses offered by the new center, which is extending Mercy Health’s reach into Trumbull County, said Dr. James Kravec, executive vice president and chief clinical officer for Mercy Health-Youngstown.

Martha Bushey of Boardman, chairwoman of the Mercy Health-Youngstown board, said she is “proud of the Howland Medical Clinic and what it will mean to Warren, Trumbull County and the Mahoning Valley. As a member of the community, I’m grateful that Mercy Health-Youngstown continues to provide us with new ways to access care that will have an enduring impact on our health,” Bushey said.”

In the midst of the current health care climate, regulatory- and payment-wise, Mercy Health must be “nimble and flexible” in order to meet the challenges, while at the same time meeting the needs of the patients,” said Donald E. Kline, president and chief executive officer of Mercy Health-Youngstown.

“We spent over two years envisioning this facility to be convenient for patients and health care providers. It is high-tech, such as the self-check-in kiosk, but not meant to be frightening. We will have navigators to help clients who wish it,” said Kline.

To conclude Wednesday’s ribbon-cutting ceremony, Bishop George V. Murry of the Diocese of Youngstown, blessed the new facility.