DENNISON – Twin City Hospital officially opened the doors of its new medical center to the first patient at 6:00 A.M. on Tuesday, March 10, 2009.  During the week prior to opening, approximately 2000 people viewed the new facility at various open houses and receptions hosted by the hospital.  Over 250 peopled gathered for the opening ceremonies and ribbon cutting at the public open house held Sunday, March 8, 2009. 

 

“I am thrilled with the overwhelming response and support from the community for our new medical center,” stated Marge Jentes, CEO Twin City Hospital.  “It was wonderful to see people waiting in lines to see the new operating rooms and the new CT scanner and x-ray machines in our radiology department.”

 

Visitors were able to receive an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at all areas of the new patient-friendly hospital including emergency rooms, surgical rooms, blood draw rooms and laboratory, radiology services, cardiopulmonary services, private and semi-private inpatient rooms, and more.  All outpatient services are located on the first floor of the new facility to optimize patient convenience, and all inpatient rooms are located on the second floor.

 

During the opening ceremonies, Dr. Galen Durose, Board Certified Family Practitioner and member of the hospital’s active medical staff, was one of the featured speakers.  “I thought a lot about what we are honoring today…whether we are honoring the amount of money people donated, or the people who built the new facility.  I believe what we are really honoring today is community.  Community is what built this hospital, and community is what will sustain it for many years to come.”

 

 

DENNISON—Twin City Hospital employees are excited and for good reason since the finishing touches are currently being put into place at the construction site of the new medical center. Scheduled to be complete in early February and open to the public in March, the nearly $12 million facility will include cardiopulmonary, emergency, laboratory, radiology and surgical services as well as inpatient rooms. Even better than having a new facility to house nearly all patient care functions is to have a hospital specifically designed with patient convenience in mind.

            Alberici Healthcare Constructors, the construction management firm chosen by Twin City Hospital, is an award-winning company that is known for designing state-of-the-art hospitals that are easy for patients and visitors to navigate. Twin City Hospital CEO, Marge Jentes, explained, “Everything about the new medical center will be completely patient-focused to allow them to receive services more efficiently and with greater comfort. From the newly created and convenient parking lot to the larger lobby and waiting area, the new medical center will be equipped to give patients and visitors the best experience possible.”

            Twin City Hospital Director of Development, Rick Rieger, added, “Patient flow in the new medical center will be outstanding. There is only one hallway on the first floor for outpatients to have to travel from the registration area to the centralized cardiopulmonary, laboratory and radiology waiting room; and across the hall is the surgery waiting room. It will be so easy for patients and visitors to find what they need. On the inpatient floor, we have 19 private rooms and 3 semi-private rooms, which can be used by patients with family members (such as a parent of a child) staying with them.”

            Not only will the new Twin City Hospital medical center be user-friendly, but patients will also notice that technology will be improved. The new facility will be equipped with completely digital, new equipment and technologies from electronic medical records to surgical equipment. Test results can be digitally transferred from Twin City Hospital to physician specialists just about anywhere. “Patients who travel to specialists outside of the area will be able to get all of their testing done at Twin City Hospital, and we can easily send the results back to those specialists,” shared Jentes.

            Nearly all patient services will be located within the new medical center, and the hospital’s existing building will continue to house geriatric psychiatry services through Behavioral Services of America on the third floor, and the first two floors will be renovated for use as medical and administrative offices.

            To showcase the new medical center, Twin City Hospital will soon announce the date of a public open house to be held in early March. As the public begins to use the new facility, it is expected that the increased patient volume will make it possible for the hospital to add new jobs later in the year. The hospital also looks forward to adding another pediatrician to its active medical staff this summer.

            Although Twin City Hospital is growing, community support is still needed. “The generosity of the communities has been wonderful,” shared Rieger. “Our current fundraising total is $5,141,899. We greatly appreciate all of our donors; however, we still need to raise funds for the new building and new equipment. Donations will still be accepted, and there are still some room sponsorships and bricks available.” For more information about making a donation, contact Rieger at (740) 922-1242, or send your tax-deductible donation to the hospital at 819 N. First Street, Dennison, Ohio 44621.

Adult volunteers are also needed to help staff the new coffee bar and gift shop in the new medical center. To sign up to volunteer at the new medical center, call Lauren Mills, Director of Volunteer Services, at (740) 922-7450, ext. 2202.

The building of the hospital’s new medical center was only part of Twin City Hospital’s success story over the past year. Thanks to a generous grant from the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Northeastern Ohio, the hospital’s Pediatric Wellness Program, led by physical therapist Sally K. Bonner, was able to begin a Fitness Just For You project to help children with special needs learn to exercise while having fun at the same time.

Additionally, Twin City Hospital’s Healthy Community Outreach Program, led by Board Certified Family Practitioner Dr. Timothy McKnight, has seen over 350 area adults “graduate” from its Fit for Life classes. The classes, made possible by a grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration Office of Rural Health Policy and a consortium of local agencies, help participants learn to make healthy lifestyle choices. Participants are often able to lose weight, lower their cholesterol levels and gain higher energy levels as a result of Fit for Life. Later this year, the hospital hopes to begin offering Fit for Life classes at area businesses.

 

DENNISON—Twin City Hospital’s Pediatric Wellness Program recently received a grant of $22,637 from the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Northeastern Ohio (RMHC-NEO).  The grant allowed the Pediatric Wellness Program to begin a specialized fitness program for children with special needs.  Titled, “Fitness Just for You!,” the innovative project is the first of its kind in Tuscarawas and surrounding counties.

            Twin City Hospital Pediatric Wellness Program Director and physical therapist, Sally K. Bonner, designed the Fitness Just for You! program to be used by children with any type of disability including spina bifida, Down’s syndrome, cerebral palsy, and autism.  For a nominal fee, children participate in twice weekly, one-hour fitness training sessions that are designed specifically to meet the children’s needs.  “As a therapist, I know the movement patterns these kids need, and it’s important to teach fitness to them at a young age so that they can continue to live healthy, active lives long into adulthood,” explained Bonner.

            Thanks to the grant from Ronald McDonald House Charities of Northeastern Ohio (which was received thanks to the support of Virginia Lewis, RMHC-NEO Chairperson and owner of several local McDonald’s restaurants), Twin City Hospital was able to purchase fitness equipment designed for use by disabled children.  Purchased equipment included an interactive sport wall, mini trampoline, elliptical trainer, rowing machine, treadmill, recumbent bike, arm ergometer, dance energy pack, skier and more.

            Bonner and her Fitness Just for You! program staff of Mary Ellen Bailey, PT, LeAnn Schaar, PTA, and Amy Tischer, PTA, have already seen positive results in the children who have participated.  “We want to thank RMHC-NEO for their ongoing support, including the first grant we received from them (in 2002) for Snoezelen Room equipment,” said Bonner.  “We’re grateful for all that they have done and have continued to do for our children.”

Lewis noted, "Ronald McDonald House Charities of Northeastern Ohio and Twin City Hospital's Pediatric Wellness Center share a common thread in our missions:  to have a positive impact on the quality and value in the lives of children and their families. We are extremely pleased to be able to assist Twin City Hospital as they provide much needed services to area children and families."

The Fitness Just for You! program is currently planning to start a new fitness session for children with cerebral palsy and mild cerebral palsy.  To get more information or to register your child, call Bonner at 740-922-4231.

 

 

DENNISON – If you have not taken a drive by Twin City Hospital lately, you should!  On August 15^th, 2005, Twin City Hospital announced the planned expansion into a new medical center.  Construction of the new facility started in late September of 2007.    The construction site is changing daily, and the new medical center is taking shape. 

 

The addition is over 42,000 square feet and will house all inpatient and outpatient services on the first floor including, but not limited to, the following services: Cardiopulmonary, Emergency Services, Laboratory, and Radiology.  The second floor will include new inpatient rooms. 

 

The new medical center is slated to be finished in the spring of 2009.  “We are simply delighted the project is progressing on schedule.  It is exciting coming to work, looking at all of the beautiful steel and realizing we are less than a year from the opening,” stated Marge Jentes, CEO, Twin City Hospital. 

 

The Twin City Hospital Board of Trustees has been working with an architect on the renovation of the existing hospital to be started when the new center is finished.  The existing hospital will, once renovated, house all of the hospital’s active medical staff in a medical clinic on the 2^nd floor.  All administrative offices will then be located on the first floor of the existing building.

 

The cost of the new medical center is nearly $12 million.  To date, over $4.5 million have been raised for the new center.  Twin City Hospital’s Capital Campaign Steering Committee continues to raise funds for new equipment for the center.   “We would like to thank all of our donors.  They have been very generous, and they will be very proud of the new facility when it is finished,” commented Rick Rieger, Director of Development, Twin City Hospital. 

 

If you are interested in making a tax-deductible donation, sponsoring a room or purchasing a brick, contact Rieger at (330) 204-6600 or mail to Twin City Hospital, Attn:  Rick Rieger, 819 N 1^st Street, Dennison, OH 44621.

 

 

 

 

 

DENNISON – Twin City Hospital is now offering women’s health services in its Specialty Clinic every Friday.  Twin City Medical Group, a part of Twin City Hospital, has added Dr. Marcel Nwizu and Dr. Walter Randolph, III, board certified gynecologists, to its team of physicians.  Dr. Nwizu and Dr. Randolph welcome new patients, and appointments can be scheduled by calling (740) 922- 7480.

 

Dr. Nwizu and Dr. Randolph each have their own practice in Dover.  They will be providing routine gynecological services on a rotating schedule every Friday in the hospital’s Specialty Clinic.  They will also be performing scheduled surgeries at Twin City Hospital on Tuesday afternoons.   “We are thrilled to add Dr. Nwizu and Dr. Randolph to our very talented physician staff,” commented Nathan Feiber, Practice Administrator, Twin City Medical Group.

 

“With the addition of gynecological services, we are able to further expand the range of care we provide to area residents,” explained Marge Jentes, CEO, Twin City Hospital.  “We hope that the community will embrace this service for their routine visits and benefit from the convenient location in our Specialty Clinic.”

 

Other services provided in the Twin City Hospital Specialty Clinic/Surgical Office are Cardiology, General Surgery, Orthopedic, Otolaryngology (ear, nose & throat), Podiatry and Urology.  For Twin City Hospital Specialty Clinic/Surgical Office hours or to schedule an appointment to see a physician specialist, please call (740) 922-7480.

 

 

DENNISON – Twin City Hospital’s Board of Trustees recently welcomed its newest member, Perriann McCoy of Dennison.  McCoy began her 3 year term at the beginning of January.  She is currently employed as Branch Manager of First Federal Community Bank’s Boulevard office located at Dover. 

 

Ms. McCoy is an active member of the First Christian Church of Uhrichsville, and has served as past treasurer for the church and the Dover Mothers Club.   She is a 2004 graduate of Leadership Tuscarawas and regularly attends Tuscarawas County Chamber of Commerce events.  She has two children, one son and one daughter, and two grandchildren.

 

“We are delighted to have Perriann on board at the hospital,” commented Marge Jentes, CEO, Twin City Hospital.  “She has several years experience in management and finance; we look forward to working with her over the next 3 years.”

 

The Twin City Hospital Board of Trustees is led by President Roger Dominick, Vice President Rod Rafael, Secretary/Treasurer Fred Bollon and Immediate Past President Carol Hoffman.  Other trustees on the Board are Greg DiDonato, Dr. Galen Durose, Marge Jentes, Darrell Pancher, Doug Ross, John Rypien, Rev. Bill Surber and Jim Weaver.

 

Twin City Hospital was recently awarded a $375,000 federal grant to be distributed across three years from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Office of Rural Health Policy.  Twin City Hospital was one of only about 60 healthcare entities in the United States to receive monies this year through HRSA’s highly-competitive Rural Health Outreach Grant Program. 

            The grant will fund Twin City Hospital’s new Healthy Community Outreach Program (HCOP), an innovative program designed to help reduce the number of overweight and obese area residents of all ages.  A consortium of community agencies will pool precious resources in order to achieve program success through a collaborative effort.  The consortium, in which Twin City Hospital serves as the lead agency, consists of HCOP Project Director and Board Certified Family Practitioner Dr. Tim McKnight, Carroll County Health Department, Children’s Hospital Medical Center of Akron, Claymont City Schools, Conotton Valley Schools, Immaculate Conception School, Indian Valley Schools, OSU Extension Office, Tuscarawas County Health Department, and the Tuscarawas County YMCA.

            Specifically, the program will provide three primary services.  First, “Fit for Life” classes for adults and “Fit for Fun” classes for children will be made available starting this fall to provide instruction on the proper nutrition, exercise and behavioral changes needed in order to lose weight and have a healthy lifestyle.  Second, special health interventions will be provided for adults and children who either have diabetes or are at risk for becoming diabetic.  Finally, the HCOP will provide nutrition, exercise and behavioral change information online beginning late this year in order to improve community access to health and wellness information.

            “Through my medical practice, I’ve seen so many patients in need of the types of services that the HCOP will be able to provide,” noted Dr. McKnight.  “I’m excited to lead this effort that will provide hope and help to so many people who are struggling with their weight and the many health complications excess pounds can cause.”

            “We are grateful to HRSA for putting their faith in Twin City Hospital by awarding us such a competitive grant, and we are looking forward to working with the consortium to provide another great community service for the residents of Tuscarawas and surrounding counties,” remarked Marge Jentes, Chief Executive Officer of Twin City Hospital.  “We appreciate all the help and support provided to us by Representative Bob Ney, Tuscarawas County Commissioners, Greg DiDonato, the mayors of Dennison and Uhrichsville and many other area officials who supported the Hospital’s grant application.”

            All Twin City Hospital HCOP services will be provided at a nominal cost, and class information for Fit for Life and Fit for Fun will be announced this fall.  For more information, contact HCOP Project Coordinator Tiffany Poland at (740) 922-7471.