Urgent care clinic to expand hours

COLDWATER - After several months of renovation, the bulk of the Community Medical Center makeover is newly completed, with its Doctors' Urgent Care clinic to offer extended hours of 8 a.m.-8 p.m. beginning June 1, the Mercer Health hospital board of governors learned Wednesday night.

Final inspections of the facility are scheduled for next week, and the urgent care clinic is expected to offer a longer window of service hours come June 1, Mercer Health CEO Jon Dingledine told board members at their regular meeting.

"We spent a lot of time as a clinical team kind of discussing when is the best time to press go on the extended hours at urgent care … to assure us plenty of time to make sure there's no hiccups here in the last week of the project, which we're not envisioning, and to kind of correlate with a clean break. It (June 1) is a Monday," Dingledine said.

Muhlenkamp Building Corp. of Coldwater started the renovations in October after the hospital relocated its urology practice from the Community Medical Center to an opening at the Galleria.

Once completed, the Doctors' Urgent Care clinic will be able to extend to 12 hours of operation per day. The clinic is currently open 6-11:30 p.m. Monday to Friday and 1:30-9:30 p.m. on weekends and holidays.  

Phase two of the renovations, entailing slight, cosmetic changes to the property, has also gotten underway.

"Probably one of the more exciting changes - because I feel like this is definitely an opportunity for the overall facility - but we've begun some of the exterior renovations," Dingledine informed board members.

Dingledine noted how some of the scattered stone has been replaced, giving the outside of the facility a cleaner look.

"It's now a heavier stone with a big landscaping rock in there," he pointed out. "Weeds are removed. Just again, gives a much cleaner look."

Other improvements are on the way, too.

"We are working with RCS to come in here in the next month or so and get the entire exterior painted to match kind of what we did at Mendon," Dingledine said. "(Vice President of Development, Marketing and Community Relations) Mindy (Kremer) has done a great job working with Forty Nine Degrees. From a signage standpoint, it will really give that building a completely different look and feel, from the exterior."

Susan Miller, the vice president of patient care services and chief nursing officer, praised how the project has reshaped the facility, both inside and out.

"I'm excited," she said. "I mean, it's just really nice to see a facelift over there, and more than just paint and stone … the exam rooms were taken into a lot of consideration, just to make sure, again, that that just feels like a good experience. And we have all the equipment and components over there."

Dingledine also reported Dr. Ryan McNeilan, an orthopedic surgeon, is now trained to perform a new procedure called MISHA.

"This really is a procedure that's going to be used for individuals who are looking to ultimately delay a total knee replacement," he said. "But this is something that he has pursued, and we're going to be one of the very few hospitals in Ohio that (will perform) this procedure."

MISHA is a shock absorber implanted in the medial aspect of a patients knee, according to Dingledine. It helps cushion the bone-on-bone that patients may be experiencing before a total knee replacement.

He also reported:

• that a Mercer Health 5K team has been launched as a fun, supportive way to encourage employees and their family members to get moving together. Mercer Health employees will receive a team shirt and reimbursement for race fees.

"This is a great opportunity for our teams to not only exercise, but also to spend some time with one another outside of work," Dingledine wrote in his report to the board.

• Mercer Health celebrated Occupational Health Nurses Week April 5-11. Mercer Health's occupational health clinic has seen a 79% increase in patient volumes in the last six years, Dingledine said.

The occupational health clinic offers DOT physicals, bus physicals, firefighter/police physicals, drug and alcohol screenings, hearing conservation, wellness, work injury management, CPR education, vaccination and exposure tracking/education.

"It's a department too that has really filled a void in our region, not just here in Mercer County but as far north right now as Lincolnview Schools, Crestview Schools in Van Wert for DOT and bus driver physicals," he said.

• 2026 sports physicals are being scheduled throughout Mercer Health Medical Group practices. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends sports physicals in conjunction with a comprehensive annual wellness exam by a patient's primary care provider, according to Dingledine.

• The Volunteer Appreciation Banquet was held April 13 at Romer's Catering in St. Henry. The volunteer association was recognized for providing nearly 10,000 hours of volunteer service to Mercer Health last year.

• Mercer Health recently rolled out Bill Pay notifications to patients via text messaging.

"This is a convenient way for patients to receive updates to balances due, as well as a quick payment system requiring just a few clicks," Dingledine wrote.

The hospital board of governors meets next at 6:30 p.m. May 27 in the hospital.