Columbus-based The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center is using its outpatient surgery center and accompanying physician offices as a template for a network of suburban facilities, Columbus Business First reports.
Here's what you should know.
1. Ohio State is a partnering with a developer to build the outpatient center on a site of undeveloped land in Columbus. So far, the plot will feature apartments and a Target. A portion of the land will have to be rezoned for medical use, but developers feel Ohio State would be an "exciting addition to the project," Don Casto III of Casto, a development company, said.
2. Ohio State already has a presence both south and west of the undeveloped plot, and the university is in the midst of interviewing designers for a 313,000-square-foot outpatient center featuring both a surgery center and an urgent care facility.
3. Ohio State underwent a period of major outpatient expansion, but was recently selling off land in the city, previously earmarked for outpatient use.
4. However, the university is "furiously" expanding throughout the suburbs. Outpatient facilities are expected to play an essential role in the expansion.