Memorial Health System Invites the Public to the Upcoming Women and Children's Hospital Groundbreaking Event
Memorial Health System would like to invite the public to join in a significant milestone—the groundbreaking of the upcoming Women and Children’s Hospital at the Belpre Medical Campus on Tuesday, October 8, 2024. The event will start at 1:30 p.m. with performances from local high schools, guest speakers beginning at 2 p.m., and light refreshments provided throughout. This groundbreaking marks a historic first step towards bringing specialized care for our region’s women, children, and their loved ones.
Joining the celebration are key stakeholders in the health system’s recent growth and success such as U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown, as well as Governor Mike DeWine and State Representative Jay Edwards, who contributed $30 million from the State of Ohio towards the Women and Children’s Hospital itself. In addition to their generous gift, Memorial Health System and Akron Children’s each contributed $40 million towards the growth of the region’s only specialized women and children’s hub for healthcare. Everyone planning to attend is required to familiarize themselves with security and parking protocols at the health system’s website, mhsystem.org/Groundbreaking. Attendees should expect a large local police presence, along with state and federal law enforcement.
Parking on the Belpre Medical Campus will be reserved for patients only. There will be no onsite parking available for guests attending the groundbreaking, however, offsite parking will be available at Belpre Church of Christ and Rockland United Methodist Church with free shuttle services to the campus.
Memorial Health System is not only proud but thrilled to see the vision of the hospital finally becoming a reality after years of noticing the urgent need for specialized OBGYN and pediatric services in the region. Between the years 2021 and 2023 alone, the health system saw a 23% increase in NICU infants requiring care outside of the service area—50-100 miles away—jumping from a previous 70% of infants being transported, to the now 93%. Furthermore, in 2023 the health system also noted 216 OBGYN patients who also sought care outside of the service area due to high-risk pregnancies and other OBGYN-related conditions.
Opening the doors to a designated hospital for women and children furthers the health system’s strategy to bring comprehensive and advanced clinical care capabilities to the region.
To learn more or to RSVP to the Women and Children’s Hospital Groundbreaking Event, visit
mhsystem.org/Groundbreaking.
