St. Mary Medical Center, a hospital of Northwest Indiana-based Community Healthcare System, officially opened the doors to their new South Valpo Immediate Care on Wednesday, Feb. 14. To celebrate the new location, St. Mary Medical Center held a ribbon cutting ceremony and open house on Tuesday, Feb. 13.
Located just off Route 30 in Valparaiso, the new immediate care center will provide a quick, convenient treatment option for patients who live in the south neighborhoods of Valparaiso.
“We’ve heard from so many members of the community that they’re excited for us to open and, in fact, we’re opening tomorrow. We couldn’t have done this without you,” said St. Mary Medical Center CEO Janice Ryba during her welcoming remarks at the ribbon cutting, which was attended by a number of city officials, Chamber of Commerce members, South Valpo medical and support staff, and area residents.
The Hobart-based hospital opened another immediate care center as part of the Valparaiso Health Center further north in Valparaiso five years ago. The South Valpo facility will be closer for residents who live in neighborhoods nearer to Rt. 30, said Chris Sheid, director of Marketing and Community Relations for Valparaiso. He added that the new location provides the same convenience of same-day care for patients, who will not have to worry about waiting to get an appointment with their primary-care physician.
“It’s very convenient for residents and for local employees and businesses,” said Sheid. “This location will allow us to serve local residents here in South Valpo with high-quality, walk-in immediate care services.
“We’re just really glad to be here. We’re very excited to be part of Valpo,” he added. “This is obviously a growing community and we have a lot of great relationships here.”
Those relationships include the hospital’s Better Together partnership with the Valparaiso Family YMCA and Health and Wellness Partnerships with the Valparaiso Community Schools and the City of Valparaiso. Ryba also noted the hospital’s strong relationship with the Valparaiso Chamber of Commerce, which co-hosted the ribbon-cutting.
“This is one of the things that I find to be so enthralling about Valparaiso and why I enjoy Valparaiso so much – it’s the people,” said Valparaiso Chamber of Commerce Board Chair Todd Leeth. “And your team [St. Mary Medical Center] and this great facility – just remarkable. On behalf of the Valpo Chamber, welcome and congratulations.”
In addition to the new immediate care facility and the adjacent family practice office at the South Valpo location, the building has other space where St. Mary Medical Center plans to provide additional services in the future.
“I want to thank everyone on our team who worked to renovate the space, order and install equipment, arrange for staffing, and coordinate the work that always comes with opening any kind of new patient care facility, for your efforts,” Ryba said. “Most of all, I want to thank all of our medical staff, caregivers and support staff who will be caring for our patients here beginning tomorrow morning. St. Mary Medical Center and Community Healthcare System are committed to providing not only positive patient outcomes but also positive patient experiences from the moment each patient makes an appointment or walks through our door.”
South Valpo Immediate Care is open from 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. on Saturday, and is closed Sunday. To learn more about the locations, services and physicians of St. Mary Medical Center and Community Healthcare System, visit www.comhs.org.
