POLAND, Ohio – A new Akron Children’s Hospital mobile health clinic and a future site for an NCAA cross-country championship meet were among the announcements at the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber’s Good Morning, Mahoning County breakfast Thursday.
Paul Olivier, vice president of Akron Children’s Hospital Mahoning Valley, Boardman, said the hospital has introduced new programs this year that help raise the bar for children’s health care in the Valley.
Among the new initiatives is the launch of a 40-foot mobile clinic in partnership with Ronald McDonald House Charities. “This is a two-room mobile clinic, which will allow Akron Children’s to go out in the community,” he said. The mobile clinic would deliver health services such as vaccines, physicals, regular checkups and sports physicals to children in need.
“We’re excited about this van rolling out,” he said. The new service is expected to launch sometime in July or August.
Other efforts this year include the creation of Akron Children’s Food Farmacy at its Beeghly Campus in Boardman, Olivier said.
“One of the things we’ve identified is that there is a decent amount of food insecurity with some of our families here,” he said. The Food Farmacy – in partnership with Second Harvest Food Bank of the Mahoning Valley – would be available to patients who require proper nutrition.
“It’s an exciting new way to expand the local healing we do for families,” Olivier said.
Olivier reported that Akron Children’s last year recruited 20 new physicians and nurse practitioners, while 10 providers were recruited so far this year.
Mill Creek MetroParks
Mill Creek MetroParks is on track to host the NCAA Division III cross-country national championship meet three years from now, said Aaron Young, the park’s executive director.
“We hope to host the conference championships in 2026, and we are in line to be the host for the 2028 Division III cross-country championship,” Young told guests during the breakfast at The Lake Club.
TheMetroParks Farm – a 402-acre site in Canfield – is also the home course for Youngstown State University’s cross-country team, which competes in the Horizon League. The course meets NCAA specifications and includes a 38-team starting grid and a 10-meter-wide track.
Young presented an update on investments made in Mill Creek MetroParks over the past seven years, a highlight of which is a $3 million-plus upgrade at the Ford Nature Center that was funded entirely through philanthropic efforts. Other capital improvements include roads, signage, restrooms and new facilities at Fellows Riverside Gardens.
He also emphasized redevelopment of the Wick Recreation Center and improvements to Lanterman’s Mill and all the sites across the 5,000 acres managed by the park.
More than $5 million in capital improvements are in store for this year, Young told guests. “I’m proud to announce that $3.2 million of that $5 million, or 64%, is provided by third party dollars,” he said.
Other Announcements
Other presentations at the event included Doug Fender, warden at CoreCivic’s Northeast Ohio Correctional Center, a private prison on Youngstown’s east side.
The warden said most of the inmates want to complete their time and join the working world. “Ninety-five percent want to go home and be with their families,” he said.
As such, Fender said it’s important that employers consider this population for job opportunities upon their release. “I encourage you to reach out,” he said.
Also, guests heard from Mahoning County commissioners Carol Rimedio-Righetti and Geno DiFabio on their efforts to rebrand the county’s message.
“We in Mahoning County wanted a new vision so that we can recruit the best,” Rimedio-Righetti said. “We need to change some of the thinking that we have. We do need this vision.”
County officials were engaged in workshops over several months to help fashion new mission statements and direction for the region.
Rimedio-Righetti spoke of core values such as integrity, accountability, loyalty, collaboration, respect, experience and diversity in the county’s staff.
“This isn’t a slogan,” DiFabio said. “This is how we envision going forward to make employees, residents, businesses, everyone to be proud to be part of the Mahoning Valley.”
Pictured at top: Paul Olivier, vice president of Akron Children’s Hospital Mahoning Valley, speaks during Thursday’s event.