Doctors Hospital Gets Go Ahead for New ER

OhioHealth announced today that it will build a new Emergency Department (ED) and Medical Education Center at Doctors Hospital on the west side of Columbus.

The announcement comes after approval of $15 million by the OhioHealth Board of Directors and a $12.5 million donation from the Osteopathic Heritage Foundation (Foundation) given in support of the community and campus enhancement. Planning for the new facilities will begin immediately.

“We are grateful to the Foundation for its support which continues a long-standing commitment to the community and osteopathic medical care,” said Doctors Hospital President Mike Reichfield. “These projects will have a tremendous impact on the health of the west side communities and the breadth and depth of our medical education programs.”

“We are pleased with this planned growth at Doctors,” said Rick Vincent, Foundation president. “The new Emergency Department will help hospital staff better serve the community and the entire facility will help further the training opportunities for the next generation of osteopathic physicians. This financial support is a demonstration of the Foundation Board’s commitment to improving the health and well being of the community while advancing the philosophy of osteopathic medical care and the osteopathic education programs at this premier training facility.”

The ED
“Our Emergency Department is bursting at the seams,” said Bruce Jones, DO, medical director. “We see at least 30,000 more patients a year than our current ED was designed to care for. This is ideal for our patients, staff, physicians, nurses and our local emergency services partners. We couldn’t be more excited to see this project move forward in order to continue to fulfill our overarching commitment to the healthcare needs of the west side communities.”

Projected to open in 2010, the new Emergency Department will be a state-of-the-art facility designed and equipped to accommodate 100,000 patient visits annually. In 2006, nearly 70,000 patients were seen in the Doctors Hospital ED.

Medical Education Center
Doctors Hospital is a nationally recognized center for osteopathic medical education. Currently, 172 physician interns, residents and fellows are receiving post-graduate training in specialty and sub-specialty, medical and surgical areas of study. Historically, more than half of the physicians who graduate from Doctors’ residency and fellowship programs establish their medical practices within OhioHealth’s service area.

The training of osteopathic physicians (DOs), like that of MDs, includes all the aspects of modern medicine including prescription drugs, surgery, and technology to diagnose, evaluate and treat diseases and injuries. In addition, DOs receive additional training emphasizing the holistic approach to medical care as well as osteopathic theories and practices in diagnosis and treatment, including osteopathic manipulative medicine.

The Foundation’s ongoing support has assisted Doctors Hospital in:

*enhancing health access through resident clinics
*adding and developing medical faculty
*establishing a research office to encourage and coordinate clinical research
*offering new fellowship training in pulmonary/critical care and cardiology

“OhioHealth and the Foundation recognize Doctors Hospital’s important role in training some of the nation’s most highly-regarded osteopathic physicians,” said Deborah Blackwell, DO, vice president, Medical Education at Doctors. “We have a vision of Doctors Hospital becoming the nation’s leading site for osteopathic medical education and research. A major step toward this vision is being taken with the opportunity to develop a state-of-the-art education center as we continue to expand our educational assessment strategies.”

“This is another sign of the enhancements at Doctors Hospital. We are nearing completion of a medical office building across from the hospital that will provide convenient, modern office space for our growing medical staff. A number of family practice physicians and specialists have joined Doctors’ staff in the past year, expanding services in the areas of orthopedics, family and internal medicine and cardiology,” said Reichfield.