Memorial Health System reps discuss expansions with Belpre Rotary Club

BELPRE -- Two representatives of Memorial Health System spoke to the Belpre Rotary Club.

Dr. Dan Breece, vice president of physician services and chief medical officer, and Scott Cantley, president and CEO at Memorial Health System, discussed the system's expansion in Athens with a free-standing emergency department, clinical services, imaging and specialty services.

The physical facility is to be modularly constructed in Pennsylvania, with the structure transported to Athens by tractor trailer and reconstructed on the Athens site, Cantley said.

Memorial Health System's partnerships with Akron Women's and Children's Hospital and the Mayo Clinic will bring expanded services, consultation and new construction to the Belpre campus, Cantley said.

"Belpre is perfectly situated for access from Athens, Marietta and other areas to Akron Women's and Children's Hospital in Belpre," Cantley said. "Belpre will become an epicenter for Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and other services. Babies from Athens and Marietta will be born here."

The Pediatric Emergency Department on the Belpre campus on Farson Street is scheduled to open Jan. 2.

"Belpre will become a hub for the entire Mid-Ohio Valley," Breece explained. "It will be the one place women and children can go for an exceptional experience-one that they deserve. It will be an exceptional birthing experience for women."

About 250 jobs will be added to the local workforce with Akron Women's and Children adding 75-100, Cantley said.

Increased payroll taxes will provide a "jump in growth," he said.

The partnership with the Mayo Clinic "is with one of the most respected brands in all of healthcare," Breece said. "You immediately have access to Mayo Clinic's most up-to-date research and e-consultations free to the patient."