Mercy Health Howland Medical Center debuts second floor addition

Medical center’s second-floor addition offers more primary-care capacity

Staff report

HOWLAND

Mercy Health Howland Medical Center staff and administration Tuesday celebrated the addition of the second floor to increase physician visit capacity.

The second floor features 36 patient rooms, and patients started being admitted to the second floor this week.

The construction of the floor resulted from an increase in demand for services by patients, said John Luellen, market president of Mercy Health Youngstown.

The upstairs section of the facility will be devoted to primary care, and the downstairs portion is dedicated to specialist care, including ear, nose and throat specialists and rehabilitation.

“I think this supplements all we do to take care of patients we have in the Mercy Health network,” said James Kravec, executive vice president of Mercy Health Youngstown.

The hospital also expanded its capabilities with technology such as My Chart, which stores medical records electronically and facilitates requests from medical professionals for requests such as refilling patients’ prescriptions.

“It’s good for the growth of primary care patients to have access to primary care physicians, both in person and through technology,” he said. “As we take care of patients, we want as many points of access as possible.”

Construction of the second floor began February 2018.

Jonathon Fauvie, Mercy Health spokesman, said the process was expedited to meet the needs of the community.

“This place is a one-stop shop,” he said. “We provide access when and where its needed.”