• OhioHealth Hospice Athens is hosting a free November film series at the Athena Cinema to encourage open conversations about hospice, grief and bereavement.
• Free grief support is available to adults and children across the community, even if their loved one was not an OhioHealth hospice patient.
• Hospice care supports the whole family, with a team that can include nurses, chaplains, social workers, home health aides, bereavement counselors and volunteers. Talking about death and grief can be difficult. But avoiding those conversations does not make loss any easier.

That is one reason the OhioHealth Hospice Athens team is taking the conversation somewhere familiar to the community: the movies.

In recognition of National Hospice and Palliative Care Month in November, OhioHealth is partnering with the Athena Cinema in Athens for a free film series designed to create a comfortable space for conversations about death, dying, hospice care and bereavement.

For Kelsey Funk, a member of the bereavement services team with OhioHealth Hospice Athens, opening the door to those conversations is an important part of helping people navigate grief.

“We are a death-denying community. We are a grief-denying community as well, and so we need to talk about it,” Funk said. “If we just deny it, it doesn't make it easier. It makes it harder to deal with. And so if we have these open conversations, it can feel a little bit more comfortable.”

More Than End-of-Life Care

For many people, the word “hospice” can be intimidating and may bring to mind only the final days or hours of a person's life. But hospice care can begin much earlier and is built around providing comfort and support to both patients and the people who love them.

“It's not necessarily those last days or those last hours,” Funk said. “It can be the last weeks, last months, even the last years that we can provide care.”

That care is delivered by an interdisciplinary team that can include nurses, chaplains, home health aides, social workers, bereavement counselors and volunteers.

And the focus extends beyond the patient.

“We don't look at just one person. We look at the whole system,” Funk said. “Family is however you define that. It's not just your blood relatives. It's whoever is your caregivers, whoever are your cheerleaders, and we get to then be the cheerleaders for everybody involved.”

Helping Families Carry Grief

Support also continues through bereavement services.

Grief can look different for every person, and Funk says people sometimes put unrealistic expectations on themselves about how they should grieve, how long grief should last or how they are supposed to feel following a loss.

Bereavement counselors can provide a listening ear while helping people find ways to live with their grief and honor the person they have lost.

Funk describes the work as being “the witness to the pain” as well as “the witness to the love.”

The goal isn't necessarily to leave grief behind.

Instead, she said, counselors can help make grief “this manageable thing that you can carry with you in a way that you can honor the people that you love.”

And no one has to navigate that process alone.

OhioHealth offers free grief support to the community, including people whose loved ones did not receive hospice care from OhioHealth. Services are available for both adults and children and can include individual support in person, by phone or through Zoom, along with school-based services, groups and workshops.

Creating Conversation Through Film

The November film series at the historic Athena Cinema offers another way to reach people where they are.

The series will feature three films intended to approach grief, death and hospice care from different perspectives:

• November 7: Coco, providing a family-friendly way to explore themes of loss, remembrance and connection.
• November 10: A short documentary focused on themes surrounding death, dying and grief.
• November 17: A fictional film offering a lighter, while still meaningful, perspective on hospice care.

OhioHealth Hospice team members will be available at the screenings to answer questions, share information about bereavement and hospice services, and connect people with support.

Tickets for all three films are free and can be reserved online at theathenacinema.com or obtained at the door.

For Funk, the film series is ultimately about making a difficult subject a little easier to approach and reminding people throughout Athens and the surrounding communities that support is available.

“We think that sometimes we can do it on our own, but we don't have to do it on our own,” she said.

OhioHealth

The 42,000-square-foot facility, located on West 4th Street on the campus of the current OhioHealth Ontario Health and Fitness Center, will bring a wide range of services together under one roof.  This partnership will make it easier than ever for families to access high-quality care close to home.

The new center reflects a shared commitment to expand access, elevate patient experience, and meet the growing needs of the Ontario community with more comprehensive care than ever before.

In addition to the new building, OhioHealth will renovate and enhance its existing Ontario facility, further expanding services to meet local needs. Planned updates include the development of a specialty care hub, adding new providers and services to support patients across a range of health conditions.

The Ontario Health and Fitness Center currently offers urgent care, WorkHealth services, a public fitness center, therapy services, imaging, and primary care. Services will continue uninterrupted during construction.  These enhancements will build on that foundation, creating a more connected, patient-centered experience across the campus.

Services provided by OhioHealth will include: 
• Primary care for adults 
• Obstetrics and gynecology 
• Advanced imaging, including a new mammography unit 

“This groundbreaking represents more than a new building. It’s a promise to this community,” said Curt Gingrich, MD, president of OhioHealth Mansfield and Shelby Hospitals. “We are investing in the future of care in Ontario by bringing more services, more access, and more support for families right here at home. Together with Nationwide Children’s, we’re creating a place where patients can receive seamless, high-quality care across every stage of life.”

Nationwide Children’s Hospital will provide: 
• Specialty Clinics 
• Laboratory Services 
• Radiology 
• Audiology 
• Clinical Therapies (occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech language therapy) 
• Primary Care 

“This partnership is about meeting families where they are and surrounding them with the care they need,” said Libbey Hoang, vice president of planning and business development at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. “By expanding our presence in Ontario alongside OhioHealth, we’re able to deliver coordinated, specialized pediatric care in one location, making it easier for children and families to access trusted, nationally recognized expertise without leaving their community.”

OhioHealth and Nationwide Children’s Hospital already collaborate to provide 24/7 pediatric and neonatal care at OhioHealth Mansfield Hospital. That partnership will continue, ensuring continuity of care for families across the region.

Construction on the $38.4 million project will begin following the May 6 groundbreaking, with the new facility expected to significantly expand access to care for the Ontario community.

OhioHealth

Located near the intersection of Gender Road and Waterloo Street, the $31 million investment will offer comprehensive services under one roof, including 24/7 emergency care, primary care, diagnostic services, women’s health, sports medicine, and rotating specialty care. The center will also create more than 50 new jobs in the Canal Winchester area.

“This new facility is more than a building – it’s a commitment to the health and wellness of Canal Winchester, and the surrounding communities,” Brian Jepson, OhioHealth Central Market President, said. “We heard from residents that they wanted more convenient care options closer to home. What better time to offer a full-service, patient-centered health destination built to grow alongside the community.”

At the heart of the center is a freestanding, full-service emergency department equipped to handle the same life-threatening conditions as a hospital-based emergency room. This space includes 12 private treatment rooms, advanced imaging such as CT, X-ray, and ultrasound, a resuscitation room, and both walk-in and ambulance entrances.

In addition to emergency services, the center will offer:

• Outpatient mammography for preventive breast health
• Primary care, sports medicine, cardiology, and urology
• Obstetrics and gynecology with prenatal and postnatal care

“We’ve designed this space with flexibility and long-term growth in mind,” Mike Ezzie, MD, President, OhioHealth Physician Group (OPG) said. “By combining emergency, diagnostic, and specialty services, we’re offering patients a seamless experience and creating a true healthcare hub right here in Canal Winchester.”

The center also reflects OhioHealth’s ongoing commitment to sustainability, meeting Energy Star 75 and LEED Silver standards for energy efficiency and environmental responsibility.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held on Monday, August 11, 2025, hosted by the Canal Winchester Chamber of Commerce. While the event is invite-only, community members are encouraged to begin scheduling appointments now and explore care options through the OhioHealth mobile app.

About OhioHealth

Based in Columbus, Ohio, OhioHealth is a nationally recognized, not-for-profit, charitable, healthcare outreach of the United Methodist Church.   

Serving its communities since 1891, OhioHealth is a family of 35,000 associates, physicians and volunteers, and a network of 16 hospitals, 200+ ambulatory sites, hospice, home-health and other health services spanning a 50-county area. It has been recognized by FORTUNE as one of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” 15 times since 2007. For more information, visit ohiohealth.com. 

“I always tell my patients, there’s nothing that’s going to be an eraser,” she said. “Prevention is the best first option.”

For sun protection, she recommends physical blockers like titanium dioxide and zinc oxide.

“They used to be that awful pasty white nose. You remember seeing sunscreen,” she said. “They are so much more cosmetically elegant nowadays, and some of the bottles are even super fun.”

Still, even with the best protection, changes happen just from living day-to-day life.

“There are things that can lighten some of those dark spots, that can maybe rebuild some of your collagen that's been broken down from time,” she said. “There are options to help rebuild, but unfortunately, we do not have that eraser.

When it comes to cosmetic procedures, Dr. Jones-Sheets supports patients seeking confidence boosts.

“If it makes you feel good, then absolutely go have that conversation,” she said. “Whoever you are seeing should also have an expectation management conversation.”

She also recognizes how social media and virtual meetings have shifted our self-perception. She reminds us that screens are never the real deal.

“The picture of the sunset is never going to be nearly as beautiful as looking at the sunset itself,” she said.

To listen to the full episode, click here.

“Here at OhioHealth Mansfield Hospital, we have nutrition experts that are registered dietitians,” said Jill Fulk RDN, LD, CDCES, Senior Clinical Dietitian and Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist at Mansfield Hospital. “We are here to help people create healthy eating patterns to assist them with their health.”

One of Mansfield Hospital’s most successful education programs for patients with diabetes is called the Diabetes Self-Management and Education Support Program. According to Fulk, the program has been recognized by the American Diabetes Association for almost 25 years. “We’ve had excellent program outcomes,” said Fulk. “Medical Nutrition Therapy and the Diabetes Self-Management Education and Support Program are two services that patients with diabetes need in order to self-manage their diabetes.”

To learn more about the Diabetes Self-Management and Education Support Program or to sign a loved one up, call 419-520-2550. You can also email Fulk directly at jill.fulk@ohiohealth.com.

Turning 50 is a big milestone for anyone, but for a program that has turned out amazing medical leaders who provided exceptional care, that is truly something to celebrate.

On May 18th, OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital Family Medicine Residency Program celebrated 50 years of training family medicine leaders.

During this daylong celebration, more than 200 program alumni, former staff and guests attended events including an office tour, picnic and an evening celebration at the Columbus Art Museum, sponsored by OhioHealth Medical Education.

Distinguished guests and speakers included Riverside Hospital President Rob Cercek, the longest-serving program director in the program's history Edward Bope MD, and Program Alumnus, President and CEO of OhioHealth, Steve Markovich, MD.

“I am so proud of what this residency program has become,” stated Dr. Markovich. “This program has created an amazing culture here spanning decades, and that was very evident today.  We have developed the best and brightest from this program, so having this day to celebrate and look back is perfect.”

Throughout the day a sense of community and continuity was felt by all, as alumni enjoyed the opportunity to reconnect and share their experiences with current program residents.

Alumni from around the country expressed appreciation for the opportunity to connect, and current residents enjoyed learning more about the rich history of the program. The achievement of osteopathic recognition and the program's participation in a national innovative pilot program set to begin in 2024.

“We take the time to honor our past, while working towards some spectacular advancements in the future,” said Steve Auciello, MD, Program Director, OhioHealth Riverside Family Practice. “I am excited to see where we are next year, and for decades to come.”

To learn more about OhioHealth medical education, click here.