OhioHealth Emergency Care in Reynoldsburg Now Open

OhioHealth Emergency Care – Reynoldsburg opened Wednesday, December 13, at 7am. Located at 6960 E. Main St, it is the second of a network of six new freestanding emergency departments (FSEDs) to open in central Ohio over the next year. Similar sites opened in Ontario (near Mansfield) and Hilliard this fall. Other locations will include Obetz, Powell, New Albany and Worthington.

“The way consumers, our patients, want to receive healthcare is changing,” said Mark Foran, MD, MPH, senior medical director of ambulatory care, OhioHealth. “They want to be able to access care right in their community, without necessarily traveling to a hospital. These new freestanding emergency departments will increase convenience and bring a broader spectrum of care to many communities throughout central Ohio. We are thrilled to open a location in Reynoldsburg, complementing the primary care and urgent care services we already offer here.”

In addition to Reynoldsburg and Hilliard, OhioHealth currently has FSEDs in central Ohio at the OhioHealth Westerville Medical Campus, the OhioHealth Pickerington Medical Campus, and the OhioHealth Lewis Center Health Center. These facilities have been well-received in their communities and provide patients with quick access to quality care.

Capabilities

The emergency care facilities will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week and will be staffed by the same board certified emergency medicine physicians who staff OhioHealth hospitals, as well as nurses with emergency medicine experience. The facility will allow cross-functional teams to be more responsive and provide a more retail patient experience. The teams will be able to collaborate with physicians and specialists throughout the OhioHealth system.

The six new central Ohio facilities are made up of eight private patient rooms and were designed with large windows to bring in ample natural light. OhioHealth Emergency Care – Reynoldsburg is conveniently located at the northeast corner of E. Main St. and Briarcliff Rd., in front of Kroger.

Capabilities include:

• Resuscitation: One large oversized room with equipment to treat immediate life-threatening illnesses and injuries.
• OhioHealth Stroke Network: The facility will be part of the OhioHealth Stroke Network, which uses advanced, virtual health technology to connect emergency teams with stroke specialists at the Comprehensive Stroke Center at OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital and the Primary Stroke Center at OhioHealth Grant Medical Center.
• Isolation: Patients needing to be evaluated for isolation will be placed in a room outfitted appropriately. An isolation room, commonly called negative pressure room, controls the air flow so no airborne particulates escape into clinical or public areas. Exhaust from an isolation room does not recirculate throughout the emergency department.
• Decontamination: A dedicated room with a separate entrance for patients who have potentially or actually been exposed to, or contaminated with hazardous substances, can be decontaminated prior to entering the facility hallway or patient room.
• Imaging: The facility includes a CT scanner, x-ray and ultrasound.

Where to go when for care?

Patients in the community will now have more choices when it comes to where to go for healthcare and it’s important to realize the services are not interchangeable.

Emergency care facilities are not the same as urgent cares. Emergency care facilities provide emergency care, which is for severe or life-threatening conditions like severe bleeding, shortness of breath or chest pain. Even though these new emergency departments are not physically attached to a hospital, they are true emergency departments.

Urgent care is for non-life-threatening injuries or illnesses like minor burns, the flu or allergic reactions. They are a great option if your primary care office is closed or cannot see you immediately. Another option, in this case, is the OhioHealth Express Appointment Center, which has locations in both Hilliard and Upper Arlington and has the availability to see patients same-day, Monday through Saturday.

Primary care physicians provide continuity of health care and management of a patient’s overall health as they age.

“At OhioHealth, we are committed to making sure our patients are receiving the right care, at the right time, at the right place,” said Foran. “We are working to get the word out about where to go under various circumstances so patients know how to properly utilize these services.”

Community Interactive Pop-Up Experience

OhioHealth hosted an interactive gaming pop-up experience at “Christmas on the Towne” in Reynoldsburg on Saturday, December 2. This experience featured multiple games, including a live game show host leading contestants through a match play game to determine where to go for certain medical needs. The OhioHealth EMS vehicle and staff were also available to teach hands-only CPR.

“This was a fun way for community members to learn the differences between these types of care,” said Foran. “Our hope is that this interactive experience will help them make the right decisions in terms of where to go when the need arises for care.”

Primary Care

The Obetz, Powell, New Albany and Worthington FSED locations will include a second floor with primary care access to help facilitate continuity of care. The Reynoldsburg and Hilliard locations already have OhioHealth primary care offices nearby.

“Primary care is very important to patients’ overall health,” said Foran. “We want to make sure that everyone visiting our emergency departments has easy access to a primary care physician for follow-up care, as well as general health and wellness needs throughout their lives. That’s why we are adding primary care offices to our FSEDs in communities that don’t currently have convenient access to OhioHealth primary care physicians.”

In total, with the cost of the primary care offices and FSEDs combined, OhioHealth is making a $52 million investment to care for central Ohio communities.

ThisWeek News - Reynoldsburg recently ran two stories about the new FSED and how OhioHealth is working to educate the community on how to choose the appropriate place for healthcare.  You can read those stories by clicking on the images below.