Rootstown – Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED) continued the celebration of its 40th anniversary and campus expansion efforts with the dedication of the NEOMED Education and Wellness (NEW) Center on Monday, Sept. 29, 2014. During the dedication, Summa Health System of Akron, Ohio, announced that it will be offering on-site, primary care services to the community beginning in 2015.
The 177,000-square-foot facility was made possible through a public-private partnership between NEOMED, Signet Development and Integrated Wellness Partners and is a major step in shifting the overall culture of health and wellness for the campus and surrounding community. The NEW Center provides medical education alongside a state-of-the-art fitness environment, physicians’ offices, advanced practice pharmacy services, conference and event space and more.
“This facility not only grows our campus in an exciting new way, but it is the cornerstone of our community wellness initiatives,” said Jay A. Gershen, D.D.S., Ph.D., president of Northeast Ohio Medical University. “By collaborating with other health professionals, NEOMED is bringing an innovative vision of health and fitness to Portage County, one that promotes true wellness by addressing every avenue of care to develop and sustain healthy, active lifestyles.”
These synergies between education and wellness are further enhanced through a new partnership with Summa Health System, which will be occupying 7,000-square-feet of outfitted space on the first floor of the NEW Center in the coming year. The health system will offer comprehensive primary care, non-emergency daytime walk-in care, corporate and employee health services, pharmacy consultation, physical therapy and lab services to the NEOMED and Rootstown communities, while also serving as a training ground for NEOMED students.
“We are excited to enhance even more our longstanding relationship with NEOMED,” said Summa Health System President and CEO, Tom Strauss. “As we continue to transform the delivery of health care away from a model of sick care to one that truly promotes healthy living, having outstanding facilities such as the NEOMED Education and Wellness Center is critical. I applaud the community for coming together to make this initiative possible, and we are proud to be involved in such an important way.”
In addition to addressing the primary health care needs of the community, the NEW Center offers first-floor amenities focused on nutrition and physical wellness. Two new public eateries, the Bistro and Erie Island Coffee House, offer healthy eating options, and Sequoia Wellness, a facility that focuses on building healthier communities by encouraging a comprehensive view of wellness that incorporates fitness, nutrition, exercise, education and more, has memberships available to the community and campus. The Conference and Event Center, located on the second floor, can host formal and informal events for up to 500 guests and will be utilized for professional and community meetings, lectures and presentations about medical field advancements, as well as personal events such as weddings, services and other private gatherings.
As a medical university, education also plays a large part in the overall use of the NEW Center. A state-of-the-art lecture hall serves as a main educational classroom for interprofessional and college-centric learning for students on the NEOMED campus; the third floor of the facility is dedicated to Bio-Med Science Academy, the public STEM+M high school on NEOMED’s campus.
“We are truly honored to be a part of the extraordinary campus transformation at NEOMED and our team is delighted to collaborate with the University on a project that is already enriching the academic experience for NEOMED students, enhancing the delivery of health care services for the community, and creating a hub of activity on-campus for all of Portage County,” said Tony S. Manna, chairman of Signet Enterprises, LLC.
Connect directly with the NEW Center at http://www.neomed.edu/newcenter.
