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The Springfield News-Sun is committed to covering healthcare and its affect on the economy in Champaign County. The paper will continue to cover stories about medical care and how area residents are being affected.
Mary Rutan Hospital opened a new medical clinic in Urbana earlier this month, and has plans to expand its services within the next few years as its continues to evaluate the region’s needs.
The new clinic, at 848 Scioto St., offers services that include flu shots and immunizations, obstetric services, general medical evaluations for newborns, children and adults and annual wellness and gynecology exams, among others.
Officials at Mary Rutan decided to open the new facility after seeing a spike in demand from Champaign County residents at the hospital’s offices in Logan County, said Laura Miller, vice president of marketing at Mary Rutan Hospital.
“It started from patient suggestions and to make it more convenient for patients in the Champaign County area,” Miller said.
The new clinic is Mary Rutan Hospital’s first location in Champaign County. Along with the full-service hospital in Bellefontaine, the organization also offers off-site locations for imaging, audiology, occupational and physical therapy, laboratory work and eight physician practices.
The new clinic includes a staff of 11, including three physicians, two nurse practitioners and a certified nurse-midwife, along with support staff. Miller estimated more than 100 patients visited the new clinic during the first week it opened.
The new clinic is expected to begin offering laboratory services within the next several weeks, and will continue reviewing additional possible services over the next 12 to 18 months that could eventually be added in Champaign County.
The hospital began seeing a spike in patients from Champaign County within the last two years, she said.
“There’s limited availability in the community for certain types of physicians,” Miller said.
The new clinic is not expected to compete with services at Mercy Memorial Hospital next door, a facility managed by Community Mercy Health Partners, Miller said. Earlier this year, CMHP opened a new Chronic Care Clinic at Mercy Memorial, designed to provide services to patients with chronic conditions like diabetes, congestive heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Officials at CMHP have said they saw a need for the chronic care facility in Urbana, and also plan to add a new chronic care facility in Springfield later this year.
“Mercy Memorial Hospital is proud to be the only local hospital dedicated to serving the comprehensive health care needs of residents of Urbana and Champaign County,” said Dave Lamb, a spokesman for CMHP. “We are privileged to have been part of the fabric of the community since 1951 and take our role very seriously.”
Officials at Mary Rutan focused on finding services they thought were needed in Champaign County, Miller said.
“We’re not going to come in and offer services that are directly competitive, but rather where we feel the need for what’s not available,” Miller said.
Mary Rutan has spent much of the past year working to recruit new providers to the region. The new providers in Champaign County will focus on primary care, internal medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology.
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