Published: September 14, 2021

Avita’s Phase III Brings Obstetrics Unit to Ontario

BUCYRUS/GALION/ONTARIO – Avita Health System announced that construction started earlier this year on Phase III of Ontario Hospital. This third phase has been in progress since March 2021 and will include additional inpatient beds and a new Labor Delivery, Recovery, and Postpartum (LDRP) unit on the second floor.

“We always had a plan to expand the number of inpatient beds available at Ontario Hospital to better meet the needs of the community,” said Jerome Morasko, President/CEO, Avita Health System. “We also wanted to bring another option for obstetrical care to the area. Our new unit allows patients to deliver their babies in state-of-the art LDRP rooms and provides a unique birthing experience right here in Richland County.”

Avita’s obstetrics unit will feature 11 LDRP rooms, 2 triage rooms, 2 C-section operating rooms, and a nursery. LDRP rooms provide a comfortable, patient-centered atmosphere for each step of the birthing process. Labor, delivery, recovery, and postpartum care all take place in one room, unless a C-section is needed. Newborns can remain at the bedside throughout the stay. The LDRP rooms are spacious and home-like with individual bathrooms and showers. Each room is over 400 square feet and equipped with fold-down sleeper sofas.

“We are pleased to have the physicians at Women’s Care provide around the clock coverage for Ontario Hospital’s obstetrics and gynecology patients,” said Morasko. “Women’s Care has been in Richland County for over 75 years. The current group of physicians there have delivered thousands of babies in the area and bring over 60 years of experience.”

In addition to the obstetrics unit, Avita is adding 12 inpatient rooms, including medical/surgical and intensive care. The expansion of the second floor will bring approximately 100 new jobs to Ontario.

“Avita is investing $15M into renovating the majority of the second floor at Ontario Hospital,” explained Kim Winkle, Vice President of Operations, Avita Health System. “We are pleased to have Adena Corporation in Mansfield as the general contractor leading this project and Davis Wince, ltd as the architect that brought our vision to reality. We were able to keep most of the work local which means a lot to us as a locally-governed health system.”

The new LDRP unit is slated to open in February 2022 with the additional inpatient units to open in March 2022.