O'Bleness Memorial Hospital plans to open a surgery center and an imaging department this month in its new outpatient care center, Castrop Center.
O'Bleness executed the first phase of its $25.3 million expansion project in August with the opening of the 1,000-foot building. A physical therapy practice opened in the center in September.
Castrop Center, named for the hospital's President Richard Castrop, offered its first services Aug. 25. The ophthalmology practice, headed by Dr. Jeffrey McAdoo, was the first in a series of services to be added to O'Bleness, hospital spokeswoman Linda Weiss said.
McAdoo said he and his associate, Dr. Craig Dodrill, will benefit from the move from their office on West Union Street to the outpatient center.
[Castrop Center] will provide a more centralized location
McAdoo said.
With a retail pharmacy and a surgery center entering the facility, McAdoo said he will be able to utilize his services to better meet the needs of his patients.
Castrop said hospital officials began formulating a plan for the expansion project in 2000, when he and a team of administrators saw the need for an outpatient surgery center at O'Bleness. They also realized they could financially support a radiation therapy center and a cardiac catheterization lab.
Then we knew we had to build something Castrop said.
According to the O'Bleness Web site (http://www.obleness.org), the team planned the expansion in four phases: the construction of the outpatient care center; the renovation of the hospital's 20,000-square foot, unfinished basement; the renovation of the hospital's first, second and third floors; and the construction of a clinic in Albany, Ohio, to house a family medical practice and radiology and lab services.
The expansion team has recruited doctors specializing in orthopedics, radiation, oncology, endocrinology and general surgery from across the country, Castrop said. They will continue their search to find specialized doctors in other medical areas to be implemented as the project continues.
Individuals coming in are top notch Weiss said. These are specialists who are practicing
and they have a record of being really good.
Castrop said he hopes to provide needed services to people in southeast Ohio as an alternative to traveling to farther hospitals such as those in Columbus.
A combination of tax-exempt bonds, taxable bonds and charitable contributions funded the expansion, Castrop said.
As the expansion continues, Castrop said the team looks forward to implementing an American Cancer Society patient navigator center and the Cornwell Center for Cardiovascular and Diabetes Care.
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The new Castrop Center, an outpatient care facility, opened recently on the O'Bleness Hospital campus.
