MercyMed of Columbus holds grand opening at facility after expansion

MercyMed of Columbus cut the ribbon on it’s newly expanded, 9,000-square-foot health care center with a grand opening celebration on Friday.

The faith-based clinic at 3701 2nd Ave. opened in 2012 in the former Columbus Bank and Trust branch building with a mission to provide quality health care to the underserved citizens of Columbus. It has since seen 35,000 patients, many of whom are uninsured, underinsured or are homeless.

The expansion was made possible by a $1.5 million fundraising effort that began in 2013.

“It’s the whole staff of MercyMed, it’s the community of Columbus that’s made this possible,” said Dr. Grant Scarborough, MercyMed founder, at the groundbreaking almost one year ago. “To me, that’s what’s so exciting. The city of Columbus is giving a wonderful, beautiful building so that we can take care of folks who have a hard time getting healthcare. It’s a gift to our patients.”

The new facility added 12 exam rooms, a Coumidan clinic, a medical lab, a procedure room for specialty clinics to include ultrasounds, orthopedics, opthalmology and dermatology, a counseling office and a four-room dental clinic. It currently has more than 8,000 patients on file from neighboring East Highlands and across Columbus.

“We don’t want to just take care of their health, we want to take care of their whole being,” Scarborough said.

The clinic will offer counseling and therapy services including mental health support groups, Christ-centered addiction recovery groups and cooking classes for patients.

This story was originally published December 9, 2016 at 4:58 PM with the headline "MercyMed of Columbus holds grand opening at facility after expansion."