ROOTSTOWN TWP.: The centerpiece of Northeast Ohio Medical University’s efforts to expand and bring the community onto its campus officially has opened.
The university held a dedication ceremony Monday to mark the completion of the NEOMED Education and Wellness Center, also known as the NEW Center.
“The NEW Center is the culmination of our vision of building a multi-use, educational facility for our students, our staff, our alumni and our community,” NEOMED President Dr. Jay A. Gershen said.
During the celebration, Summa Health System President Thomas J. Strauss said the Akron-based health system will lease space in the NEW Center to offer primary care, lab work, corporate health and physical therapy services, along with a daytime walk-in clinic.
When it opens in December or January, the Summa primary-care office will work closely with Pharmacy Innovations, an affiliate of NEOMED that will provide retail, educational consultative services.
The 177,000-square-foot facility also includes an auditorium, classroom and conference space, a restaurant, a coffee shop and Sequoia Wellness, a membership-based wellness and fitness center that’s open to the public.
The third floor of the building houses the Bio-Med Science Academy, a high school that specializes in science, technology, engineering, math and medicine.
The project is part of $166 million in recent upgrades that roughly double the building space on campus. Improvements include housing and a new graduate education and research building.
The buildings were completed with financing arranged by Akron-based Signet Development.
Leases, rental fees and memberships from users of the facilities will pay off the bonds, Gershen said.
“It was done without one penny of state capital,” he said. “This is a new public-private partnership model for higher education.”
Signet’s Integrated Wellness Partners is managing the fitness center as well as the on-campus housing.
So far, about 1,750 people have memberships to Sequoia Wellness, Gershen said. The university’s 850 students get memberships as part of their student fees.
Sequoia Wellness includes a gym, lap pool, warm-water therapy pool, a rock-climbing wall, studios, free weights and cardiovascular equipment.
The fitness center is “a place where our NEOMED students, faculty and staff can learn to practice what they preach,” Gershen said.
First-year medical students Alex Prassinos of Austintown and Phil Stokey of Defiance frequently use the fitness center to lift weights together and de-stress after classes.
“I love it,” Prassinos said. “I am here after class every day.”
Cheryl Powell can be reached at 330-996-3902 or cpowell@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow Powell on Twitter at twitter.com/CherylPowellABJ.
