Compassionate Care Center Closes Doors in Bridgeport
The Compassionate Care Center for Surgical Excellence has closed, but East Ohio Regional Hospital officials hope to reopen the facility eventually.
The outpatient surgery center, situated along Ohio 7, opened in 2013. Its closure has been blamed on low numbers of surgical procedures being performed there.
The Compassionate Care Center was owned initially by the Chiron Partners, which included CEO Les DeFelice. However, East Ohio Regional Hospital of Martins Ferry later became the majority owner of the operation.
Bernie Albertini, vice president of physician services at East Ohio Regional Hospital, said, “We bought 80 percent of it. East Ohio Regional Hospital bought it from the four founding physicians. They had formed a corporation. They were having a hard time with it.”
EORH took over the center about 14-15 months ago, he said.
“The volumes were kind of disappointing for us,” Albertini said. “It did not make sense to keep it open. … With health care, you need full volume to make things work. … From an efficiency standpoint, it didn’t make sense.”
The hospital, which is located about a mile from the center, had the capacity to handle the workload, so those outpatient services were moved to EORH. Albertini said the center’s staff members were offered positions within the hospital.
The center was used for ophthalmology, orthopedics, gastrointestinal scopes and some plastic surgery, he said.
“It’s not a permanent closure. We hope to reopen it. We’re working through the whole Alecto issue as well,” Albertini said. “Our goal is maybe once the Alecto deal goes through, maybe we can get some more physicians and reopen it.”
Alecto Healthcare Services of Irvine, Calif., is in the process of purchasing Ohio Valley Health Services and Education Corp., the parent company of EORH, Ohio Valley Medical Center in Wheeling and related entities. Pending regulatory approval in West Virginia and Ohio, the sale is anticipated to be completed in the second quarter of this year.
Construction of the Compassionate Care Center’s 10,000-square-foot building began in mid-2012.
“It’s a beautiful facility. It’s gorgeous,” Albertini said.
The center’s original tenants included colorectal surgeon Dr. Steven Wiley, orthopedic surgeon Dr. Jack Michalski, plastic surgeon Dr. James Shope and podiatric surgeon Dr. Jason Newton. When it opened, the center planned to employ 15-20 people.
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