(Jan. 22, 2015) One of the most startling changes in the Ocean Pines landscape in 2015 might be the opening of the massive 20,000 square foot health care complex, Delmarva Health Pavilion.
Construction began in late September, and the facility on Route 589 near Racetrack Road appears to be coming along effortlessly.
That’s not to say the entire process has been without its share of setbacks. Developer Palmer Gillis of Gillis Gilkerson made initial inquiries on the property more than 10 years ago.
“Construction was the easy part,” he said. “When my kids ask me what I do, I tell them I try to identify something that somebody is going to need five years before they know they’re going to need it. In this particular case, it was seven or eight years before they knew they were going to need it.”
To date, the majority of construction focused on the first building in what could be a five-building pavilion anchored by Peninsula Regional Medical Center.
PRMC Community Relations Director Roger Follebout said “building one” would consolidate regional offices in Ocean Pines and Berlin, including two family practices, lab services, a community pharmacy and the cardiac rehab component of the Guerrieri Heart and Vascular Institute into a “one-stop” health care center.
“The idea behind the whole Delmarva Health Pavilion and the series of health pavilions we have planned is that we want to bring the services directly to the people and bring everything together in one location,” Follebout said. “In other words, if you have a primary care visit with the office in Ocean Pines and you need lab work done, the office is right there. If you need a prescription filled, it’s right there. We want to make it easy and convenient for people.
“It’s really part of health care’s triple aim because it provides people in that area those services that they need and they no longer have to travel great distances to obtain that,” Follebout continued. “We’re bringing the services that are associated with Peninsula Regional Medical Center closer to Ocean Pines. That’s the key.”
Follebout said the two existing family practices are currently in “aging” buildings.
“We’re going to take those two practices and bring them together in this new state-of-the-art building,” he said. “It’s a beautiful building and it will absolutely meet our needs. We’ve been looking for a number of years for a way to get those two practices together, so this is just a great opportunity to do that.”
PRMC cardiac facilities perform as many as 500 open-heart surgeries each year, along with 4,000 other cardiac catheterizations and electrophysiology procedures.
“Our cardiac rehab component is one of the largest in the state of Maryland, and it is the most comprehensive in the state of Maryland,” Follebout said. “The need is there, and for cardiac rehab patients, in a population like Ocean Pines, it provides those services very, very close.
“Ocean Pines is a great service area for us because it’s growing, and the fact that we are able to partner with Palmer and locate our practices in this great piece of property right near the north gate is absolutely wonderful, and we’re really excited about getting in there and getting the service rolling,” Follebout continued.
Gillis said the first phase construction was on target for a planned late-spring-to-early-summer opening. In order for growth to continue beyond the initial phase developments, traffic issues on Route 589 would have to be addressed.
According to Gillis, any highway improvements would be made without cost to the community.
“We would bare all the costs, but I have to get their acceptance of it,” he said. “We like to think we’re building something that’s attractive to the community. That’s our goal.
“I’m not trying to build tract housing or shopping centers or heavy traffic,” Gillis continued. “The beauty of medical offices is that it’s a perfect transitional use from highway to residential, meaning it’s typically compatible with the neighborhoods, and it typically doesn’t have high usage when it’s inconvenient for the neighborhoods, which means nights and weekends. So, we think it’s a compatible function for the neighborhood, and we’re trying to bring more convenience for Ocean Pines.”
Construction began in late September, and the facility on Route 589 near Racetrack Road appears to be coming along effortlessly.
That’s not to say the entire process has been without its share of setbacks. Developer Palmer Gillis of Gillis Gilkerson made initial inquiries on the property more than 10 years ago.
“Construction was the easy part,” he said. “When my kids ask me what I do, I tell them I try to identify something that somebody is going to need five years before they know they’re going to need it. In this particular case, it was seven or eight years before they knew they were going to need it.”
To date, the majority of construction focused on the first building in what could be a five-building pavilion anchored by Peninsula Regional Medical Center.
PRMC Community Relations Director Roger Follebout said “building one” would consolidate regional offices in Ocean Pines and Berlin, including two family practices, lab services, a community pharmacy and the cardiac rehab component of the Guerrieri Heart and Vascular Institute into a “one-stop” health care center.
“The idea behind the whole Delmarva Health Pavilion and the series of health pavilions we have planned is that we want to bring the services directly to the people and bring everything together in one location,” Follebout said. “In other words, if you have a primary care visit with the office in Ocean Pines and you need lab work done, the office is right there. If you need a prescription filled, it’s right there. We want to make it easy and convenient for people.
“It’s really part of health care’s triple aim because it provides people in that area those services that they need and they no longer have to travel great distances to obtain that,” Follebout continued. “We’re bringing the services that are associated with Peninsula Regional Medical Center closer to Ocean Pines. That’s the key.”
Follebout said the two existing family practices are currently in “aging” buildings.
“We’re going to take those two practices and bring them together in this new state-of-the-art building,” he said. “It’s a beautiful building and it will absolutely meet our needs. We’ve been looking for a number of years for a way to get those two practices together, so this is just a great opportunity to do that.”
PRMC cardiac facilities perform as many as 500 open-heart surgeries each year, along with 4,000 other cardiac catheterizations and electrophysiology procedures.
“Our cardiac rehab component is one of the largest in the state of Maryland, and it is the most comprehensive in the state of Maryland,” Follebout said. “The need is there, and for cardiac rehab patients, in a population like Ocean Pines, it provides those services very, very close.
“Ocean Pines is a great service area for us because it’s growing, and the fact that we are able to partner with Palmer and locate our practices in this great piece of property right near the north gate is absolutely wonderful, and we’re really excited about getting in there and getting the service rolling,” Follebout continued.
Gillis said the first phase construction was on target for a planned late-spring-to-early-summer opening. In order for growth to continue beyond the initial phase developments, traffic issues on Route 589 would have to be addressed.
According to Gillis, any highway improvements would be made without cost to the community.
“We would bare all the costs, but I have to get their acceptance of it,” he said. “We like to think we’re building something that’s attractive to the community. That’s our goal.
“I’m not trying to build tract housing or shopping centers or heavy traffic,” Gillis continued. “The beauty of medical offices is that it’s a perfect transitional use from highway to residential, meaning it’s typically compatible with the neighborhoods, and it typically doesn’t have high usage when it’s inconvenient for the neighborhoods, which means nights and weekends. So, we think it’s a compatible function for the neighborhood, and we’re trying to bring more convenience for Ocean Pines.”