City documents indicate that the city needs time to update its regulations “in the midst of a rapidly changing environment.”
“To be clear, it’s not that we are intending to block these types of facilities,” City Manager Brent Merriman said during the Xenia City Council meeting Thursday night, referring to freestanding emergency rooms. “But that their location and conditions associated with where they would develop would be evaluated and potentially have some conditions established.”
The new medical center will be located on Progress Drive across from the YMCA, on the west edge of Xenia. The current hospital is on Monroe Drive, in north-central Xenia.
The Kettering Health Xenia project is expected to take 24 months to complete. The existing campus, Kettering Health Greene Memorial, will continue to remain open during that time, the hospital said.
In a Thursday open letter to the community signed by Merriman, the city indicated they do not agree with the direction Kettering Health is taking, saying the proposed Kettering Health Xenia is not a hospital by legal definition, “nor will it provide comprehensive care as one might expect.”
“The scope of care provided will be oriented toward basic care for ambulatory patients,” Merriman wrote. “In other words, patients with non-serious medical conditions or simple injuries will be great candidates for services at this new care facility. Higher-risk patients with serious conditions requiring a stay or advanced procedures will have to be transported elsewhere.”
Additionally, having to transport patients further away from Xenia puts greater strain on Xenia Fire and EMS, which ultimately costs taxpayers more money, Merriman said.
“We realize and feel the growing disappointment and insecurity of declining healthcare services in Xenia. It is because of this that the City responded to Kettering Health Network to propose that they make Greene Memorial Hospital available to us in order that we might partner with another health care system who could step in and maintain a full-service hospital presence,” Merriman wrote.
It’s unclear what will become of the existing campus on Monroe Drive after those two years are up, but Kettering Health plans to take input from the community, according to hospital leaders. Staff will be offered positions at the new medical facility or other locations in Greene County, the hospital said.
“Kettering Health is committed to serving the healthcare needs of the citizens of Xenia and Greene County – now and in the future,” Kettering Health said in an organizational statement on Thursday.
Patients are frequently seeking outpatient settings, according to Kettering Health, leading the hospital system to prioritize a medical facility that supports that desire.
“We share the passion of local leaders to provide these communities with access to high quality healthcare services that prioritize patients receiving care as close to home as possible,” Kettering Health’s statement says.
“As we work toward this end, we do so in a rapidly changing environment, where more people are seeking care in outpatient settings compared to hospitals, creating an urgency to invest in facilities that meet these needs,” Kettering Health says.
Current regulations include hospitals and outpatient facilities, but not freestanding emergency room facilities, city documents say.
“Such emergency room facilities are unique due to their 24/7 operation, noise from sirens and possibly helicopters, and their mandate to quickly provide unscheduled medical care,” documents show. “The City needs time to update its regulations before permit applications are submitted for specific facilities.”
The moratorium is set to expire Oct. 22.
Kettering Health made no indication it was changing its plans to build the $44 million medical facility, saying its plans will abide by city ordinances.
“Our plans for future services in Xenia will ensure high-quality healthcare remains accessible and abides by any ordinances passed by local officials. We remain committed to collaboration and seeking input from members of the community throughout this process,” Kettering Health says.
The city has recently leveled criticism against the hospital network. In a letter to Kettering Health CEO Mike Gentry in June, Xenia leadership cited the cutting of services, draining resources and health care jobs from Xenia to other Kettering Health locations, including Soin Hospital in Beavercreek, as “a decade of inaction and unfulfilled promises” by the network.
In the same letter, Xenia proposed an “exit ramp” for Kettering Health, which would involve transitioning ownership of Kettering Health Greene Memorial to the city, and either divesting its properties on Progress Drive and Greene Way Boulevard, or marketing them for additional development.
Kettering Health already owns the land where it announced its new medical facility will be, which includes more than 35 acres at 334-338 South Progress Dr., according to Greene County property records. Kettering Health purchased the property in 2016 for nearly $3.4 million, and records show it is now estimated to be worth more than $5.7 million.
The property already has the land use code corresponding with “Charitable exemptions – hospitals, homes for the aged, etc.,” according to county records.
