The land is less than one mile from Premier Health’s Atrium Medical Center and about six miles from an emergency facility that Kettering Health opened in 2015 in Franklin.
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Fred Manchur, chief executive officer of Kettering Health Network, said the healthcare system is “thrilled” to be in Middletown and said a groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday is “truly a milestone.”
Kettering Middletown is “focused on an outpatient direction,” Manchur said.
“In the past, you had very large hospitals and people came to you,” he said. “In today’s environment, there’s an expectation that you’re going to be out in their neighborhood, and so to expect them to drive into Kettering or into Hamilton, we decided we needed to be right here in the community.”
Kettering Health Network is one of the region’s largest employers with more than 12,000 people and total 2016 net revenues of approximately $1.5 billion. The system operates eight hospitals, including Fort Hamilton Hospital in Hamilton, 10 emergency departments and 120 outpatient facilities serving southwest Ohio.
Middletown Mayor Larry Mulligan said Kettering Middletown is a ‘a real blessing” for the city and a welcome change from an “unsightly” hotel that once occupied the site.
“We just had a ribbon cutting last month for AK Steel’s high-tech, world class (Research & Innovation Center) just up the road,” Mulligan said. “This is going to be another first-class facility that we’re just glad to have here in Middletown.”
The medical center is scheduled to be completed in mid to late 2018.
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With its location at Middletown’s I-75/Ohio 122 gateway, the 15.5-acre property is considered prime real estate and is more than adequate for Kettering Health, Manchur said.
“Just look at Kettering (Medical Center) itself,” he said. “Fifteen acres is what our major footprint is on (there) … It’s surprising what you can do with 15 acres.”
While something of that center’s size isn’t in the works for the Middletown site, the new facility will be “current,” designed for a rapidly changing healthcare landscape and capable of growth, when necessary.
“We’re going to nimble enough that we can move with that changing element,” he said.
Kettering Health Network, which covers a 10-county area, has a commitment to high-quality care, Manchur said.
“We know that this has been a community that we have drawn patients out of,” he said. “ I believe that we will be a very good partner. As we come into communities, we have a reputation of making sure that we buy into the community, we become part of the community.”
Kettering will continue to expand its network beyond the southern Dayton area with healthcare options geared toward what individual communities need.
“We were successful at that, and so instead of building one very large facility — we still have a very large facility in Kettering itself — but we’re putting our spokes out,” he said. “We’ve got the hub and we’re moving out into the regions, into the different areas that you’re serving and you have to put the appropriate care.”
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