WHS unveils outpatient center in Canonsburg
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
The WHS Outpatient Center in Canonsburg
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
The WHS Outpatient Center in Canonsburg
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Gary Weinstein, right, president and chief executive officer of Washington Health System, listens to Dr. Paul Slomiany during the grand opening of the WHS Outpatient Center in Canonsburg on Wednesday.
It took awhile, but the Washington Health System Outpatient Center has landed in Canonsburg.
“We had been planning this project for six or seven years,” said Gary Weinstein, WHS president and chief executive officer. He was the featured speaker Wednesday evening at a grand opening for the facility, at 100 S. Central Ave.
“It took three years to find this site,” he continued. “We had looked at other buildings, but we could not find something that worked for us. Then we got a lead on this.”
Family physician services and a lab draw service will be the primary features at the Outpatient Center, situated between South Central Elementary School and the football stadium. Four facility physicians, six residents and a nurse practitioner will work in family services, and the lab draw “will be available for anyone in the community,” Weinstein said.
The center will supplant WHS’s outdated Family Medicine Center in the borough, and be more cost-effective for all. WHS leased the property on East Pike Street, where patients had to park at meters; parking will be free at the new center, on land the health system owns.
Despite the grand opening designation, the center is not yet operating. Staff will move in Nov. 30, and the initial patients will be seen Dec. 3. The facility will be open weekdays, not weekends: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday.
Visitors to the event Wednesday toured the state-of-the-art building, which encompasses a little less than 11,000 square feet of space, according to tour guide Debbie Maravich. There are 14 examination rooms, and the walls are adorned with a gallery of framed photos of Canonsburg area attractions, some that no longer exist.
The property has an interesting history, having at various times been a laundromat, a pizza shop, a gas station and – more recently – an auto dealership that endured two fires. It survived the first, not the second, the latter occurring about 20 years ago.
Maravich said the remaining structure was razed, and she estimated MBM Contracting of Pleasant Hills built it “from scratch” in six months. Tom Durkin of VEBH Architects of Mt. Lebanon was the architect.
Washington Health System has owned the property for several years, following an eminent domain case with Canon-McMillan School District that ended up in court.
A number of guests Wednesday were impressed by the new digs. Paul Slomiany, one of the family physicians on hand, said, “Finally, this state-of-the-art building with good spacing is a reality.”
Then, referring to the East Pike offices, near the municipal building, he added, “Although it’s nice to hear Perry Como singing during the Christmas season, it’s great to be here.”
Mayor Dave Rhome said, “We appreciate what Washington Health System has done. We welcome you and hope you have many years of success.”
So does Weinstein. He said health system officials had considered other locations, including sites in Peters Township and Southpointe, both near their final selection. But he is pleased to be in Canonsburg.
“This is where patients come to us,” Weinstein said. “We’re committed to staying in the borough of Canonsburg.”