There is and always will be a need for health services. These services come in all forms. From ambulance and emergency services, to simple doctor’s visits for a checkup and even urgent care, hospitals and clinics come in all kinds of sizes.
In Portage, this need has recently been met with an even greater capacity by the recent opening of the Franciscan Health’s WorkingWell Occupational Health Services.
Tonight was the ribbon cutting for this state of the art facility, that was brought about by Franciscan Health and supported by both Duneland and Portage Chamber of Commerce.
“About four years ago, [WorkingWell] opened in this same strip mall, but they outgrew that location,” stated Nancy Simpson, Executive Director of the Portage Chamber of Commerce. “So the need is here for more facilities that have occupational health services and urgent care. Portage is growing, so there are more businesses that need these services.”
Tim Ross, the Administrative Director of Retail Services for Franciscan Health oversaw the design and implementation of the new building on Willowcreek Road.
“We’re pretty proud of the design and how it turned out,” Ross stated. “We’re thankful for the support of the community to get us to this point. There were a lot of challenges in getting this project from start to finish. And it was surprising how well the team handled and overcame these challenges.”
Indeed, having purchased a previous building meant that there were extensive renovations that they had to do first to even build out and make it a more usable space as it is now.
“We have a typical floor plan that we like to use for these types of services, but we had to build to suit the existing building, “ stated Chris DiGuisto, Vice President of Ambulatory Services for Franciscan Alliance. “We’re really excited to have this coinciding with the opening of the new hospital in Michigan City. We hope to do more of these sites around the area.”
As Portage continues to grow, the demand for more services, such as express care, urgent care, and occupational medicine, employer health and worker’s compensation only grows with it.
“WorkingWell has been in Portage for a while and they’ve been great members," said Jessica Bailey, Director of Marketing and Community Development for Portage Chamber of Commerce. “Now that they’ve been able to expand and offer more services and be a larger presence will be great for other businesses and other people and for the community in general.”
Thankfully, Franciscan Health has seen to it that those needs are now being met with the brand new building. Tonight’s celebration was a payoff for a lot of hard work.
"It’s been a lot of fun to plan this event," said Wendy Mis, Ourtreach and Wellness Specialist for Franciscan Health in NWI. “It was a bit of a challenge to put it together, but it was exciting to show it off now that the day is finally here. It’s really a celebration because it’s been a long road to get here and it turned out so nice. We’re ready for patients on Monday.”
It seems that Franciscan Health and WorkingWell are making sure that the health care needs are continually being met as both continue to grow together.