COSHOCTON − Providing more health care options for residents of Coshocton County is the focus of the new Genesis Coshocton Medical Center opening April 3.
A ribbon cutting and open house for community stakeholders was held March 16 and an open house and family fun day for the general public was held March 18.
A groundbreaking for the 60,000-square-foot, $50.8 million facility at 48439 Genesis Drive, near the intersection of US 36 and Airport Road, was held in July 2021. It will employee about 200 people with Matthew Perry, Genesis HealthCare System president and CEO , saying most of those who have been hired. Some new employee orientations are still happening.
Perry said Genesis has been serving Coshocton for more than 100 years and is already operating two clinics, one in downtown that opened in January 2021 and one near the new hospital that opened in September with a variety of services. Genesis is headquartered in Zanesville with facilities in Guernsey, Perry and Morgan counties.
“We’ve always provided services for the residents of Coshocton, we’ve just never done it locally,” Perry said of the expansions. “Our whole goal was to be able to bring our highest level of care and services to the people. We felt like that was something we owed Coshocton. We felt like we had a lot to offer and the decision was we wanted to do even more for the residents of Coshockton.”
What will be offered
The one-story structure will include an emergency department with 10 beds, overnight patient observation unit with 10 beds, outpatient surgery center, imaging department, laboratory, pharmacy, cardiac diagnostics, respiratory therapy, a medical office building for specialists and physical, occupational and speech therapy.
“We’re bringing a lot more specialists to the community, physically and virtually. It’s the access point to literally everything we provide as a health care system,” Perry said. “The whole goal is to be able to provide as much of that care locally so people don’t have to travel. But, if they have something of a much higher acuity level we have them connected very easily and very seamlessly.”
Tisha Babcock, administrator for Genesis Coshockon, said they will also be able to offer transfers via Community Ambulance to the Zanesville hospital or another medical facility if needed. It will not answer 911 calls. The medical center also doesn’t have a birthing center, but prenatal care is offered at the nearby Genesis Physician Services Office. Deliveries will take place in Zanesville.
The Appleseed Café will be the main food source for patients and visitors. It will serve Starbucks Coffee, but it’s not a Starbucks store.
While higher tech types of services will need to be done in Zanesville, such as open heart surgery, most preliminary and follow-up care can be done in Coshocton, Perry said.
“Nothing we’re offering here is new to us as a health system. It’s a new location for us, but these are all things we’re well practiced at as an organization. All these services are right in our wheelhouse and we do them exceptionally well,” Perry said. “You start with what are the services you want to be able to provide and how you want to do that. Then you design the entire facility and the equipment you need around the needs of the patients and the needs of the staff to take care of the patients.”
Community connections
Perry is quick to give credit to local officials and agencies who have supported the construction and in general championed the opening of the new hospital. Cost in part was provided by the Montgomery Foundation, Coshockon Foundation and Genesis HealthCare Foundation.
“The support we’ve gotten from the community has been just incredible. From all of the elected officials, the port authority, the chamber of commerce and all the citizens. The number of people who have come through this facility for tours while it was under construction was just unbelievable,” Perry said.
Perry said a majority of the 200 employees are from Coshockon County with many others from surrounding counties. He said about 150 county residents already worked for Genesis and several transferred to the Coshockon facility.
“We want to be a strong and good employer for this region for many years,” Perry said. “The whole goal is to be able to have a medical center here in Coshocton for the residents of Coshocton that is primarily staffed by residents of Coshocton. That’s what it’s all about, local people taking care of local people.”
Leonard Hayhurst is a community content coordinator and general news reporter for the Coshockon Tribune with more than 15 years of local journalism experience and multiple awards from the Ohio Associated Press. He can be reached at 740-295-3417 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @llhayhurst.
This article originally appeared on Coshocton Tribune: Genesis of Coshocton opens April 3