Over 1,000 more patient visits to be handled per year if Columbus clinic’s plan is OK’d
A medical provider for uninsured and underinsured people plans to expand its primary and vision healthcare services in Columbus, providing capacity for more than 1,000 additional patient visits per year.
The Columbus Planning Advisory Commission has approved MercyMed’s rezoning request to renovate and expand its clinic at the Columbus Baptist Association’s headquarters, 3679 Steam Mill Road. Columbus Council will hear the first reading of the request during its May 10 meeting and vote on the recommendation after a second reading during its May 24 meeting.
If the council approves the rezoning request, the renovation would expand the eight-year-old clinic from 2,760 to 3,220 square feet and from five to seven exam rooms after the three to six months of construction, MercyMed chief development officer Billy Holbrook told the Ledger-Enquirer.
That would enable MercyMed to add two to three employees, including a physician’s assistant or nurse practitioner, to the clinic’s five-person staff, led by Dr. Sarah Barr. While the clinic is closed for the project, patients can be treated at MercyMed’s main Columbus office, 3702 Second Avenue, 706-507-9209.
“An extremely generous donor” is paying for the estimated $450,000 cost to expand the Steam Mill Road clinic, Holbrook said.
“MercyMed views this project as an investment in our patients, staff and the community,” he said in an email to the L-E. “We understand there is a major need for access to healthcare for the underserved, and this expansion helps MercyMed to better respond. With the renovations made to this facility, we are excited to improve our patients’ experience at MercyMed at Mission Columbus.”
The commission recommended approval of MercyMed’s request to rezone 3.3 acres on the property from single-family residential to general commercial. None of the 85 property owners within 300 feet of the parcel responded to the notification of the rezoning request with statements of opposition or approval, according to the commission’s staff report.
MercyMed’s clinic on Second Avenue has been open for 10 years. Its 9,000 square feet comprises 13 exam rooms, four dental rooms, two counseling rooms, a wellness center and 38 employees.
In 2021, MercyMed treated more than 10,000 individuals, totaling 19,677 patient visits at the Second Avenue clinic and 3,651 patient visits at the Steam Mill Road clinic, Holbrook said. MercyMed expects the expansion of the Steam Mill Road clinic to allow treatment of an additional 1,200-1,500 patient visits per year, he said.
MercyMed leases space from the Columbus Baptist Association for the Steam Mill Road clinic. Holbrook expressed gratitude for the partnership.
“There is a long history of serving neighbors in the name of Jesus at that address,” he said, “and we are thrilled we can operate a healthcare center with the same focus at this important location in our city.”
Jimmy Blanton, the CBA’s missionary, told the L-E in an email, “MercyMed has more than fulfilled any hopes that I had for the partnership” since 2014, when MercyMed started operating CBA’s Mission Columbus Medical Clinic.
‘This addition to our present day building and the new medical provider will benefit all who are in need,” Blanton said. “The Columbus Baptist Association and Mission Columbus are so very thankful to have MercyMed on our campus. touching the lives of so many in our community.”
This story was originally published April 15, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
