YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Meridian HealthCare plans to break ground on an approximately $2 million expansion by the end of summer, its president and CEO said Monday after the Ohio Controlling Board approved up to $1 million in state capital funds for the project.
The project will include adding 3,000 square feet of space to Meridian’s campus at 527 N. Meridian Road and renovating some of its existing 26,094 square feet of space, Larry Moliterno said. It has been in the works for about two years.
“This is actually going to be the fourth expansion that we’ve done at the Meridian Road campus,” he said. “This is going to allow us to expand access for our integrated care, and part of that is going to be the opening of a pharmacy at that location that’s going to make it more convenient for patients to be able to get their prescriptions filled.”
Meridian provides primary care, mental health and substance abuse services. It has facilities in Youngstown, Warren, Boardman and Poland.
“We do primary health care and we do behavioral health care, and we believe that doing that work together is really what is best for helping people meet the demands of their health needs,” he said. “Too often, the people involved in primary care and the people involved in behavioral health care, the providers, don’t talk to each other in terms of providing the best care for the patient. So that’s what we’re doing, and we’re having a lot of success with it.”
The expansion and renovation project, which has been planned for about two years, also will permit Meridian to expand the number of examination rooms and counseling offices to an additional four to five each, he said. In addition, Meridian will expand its training room, which is important for providing “the most up-to-date best practices” for its providers.
As a condition of the state funding, Meridian has committed to provide services at the location for 20 years, according to state documents. Before distributing the funds, the Ohio Department of Mental Health & Addiction services will further secure the investment with a contract, 20-year forgivable mortgage and note.
Moliterno said he expects to add 10 new staff members. Meridian currently has 250 employees on its staff between the various locations.
Meridian is in the process of raising the $1 million match needed for the state grant, he said. The goal is to break ground by the end of summer and have it complete by the beginning of 2026.
“It’s such a critical expansion for us. If we have to finance it, we’ll finance it,” he said. “It’s still our hope to be able to generate other forms of revenue so we don’t have to finance it as much.”