By Jim Newell
Managing Editor
jnewell@mihomepaper.com
Oxford —It’s been years in the planning and construction phases, but on Monday McLaren Oakland – Oxford Campus opened the doors of its new $35 million medical facility in Oxford to patients.
Beginning Aug. 5, patients “will have access to a wide range of services including advanced diagnostic imaging, physical therapy, cardiac rehab, primary care, occupational health and an outpatient medical lab,” according to McLaren Oakland.
The McLaren Oakland – Oxford Emergency Department will open in early Fall, offering 24/7 service from highly-trained emergency and trauma staff. The 54,000-square-foot building at 385 N. Lapeer Rd. also offers an oncology clinic with a pharmacy, and a multi-specialty clinic.
“Honestly, we have been praying for this for a long time,” said Dr. Tressa Gardner, chief medical director for McLaren Health Emergency Medicine Division. “Everybody put their heart and soul (into it), and as a doc who’s going to work here, I can appreciate everything (the builders) did just for us.”
A group of people, including township officials, firefighters and law enforcement officers had an opportunity to tour the new campus during a VIP open house on Aug. 1.
“Our community has needed a state-of-the-art medical facility like this for a long time and now, we have it thanks to the McLaren team,” said Oxford Township Supervisor Jack Curtis. “We appreciate their investment in our township. We appreciate their renewed commitment to our residents. We appreciate their vision for the future.”
While the emergency department is not yet operational, Emergency Director Dr. Dan Wahl said that patients can expect “world-class care” when they enter the facility.
“This new facility will bring cutting-edge healthcare to this community and allow patients to receive world-class care, whether they walk in or are brought in by EMS. This facility will be backed by the countless years of medical expertise from the nurses, techs, support staff and providers in Oxford,” said Wahl. “Oxford will also have the backing from our main campus at McLaren Oakland, and the McLaren system.”
The team of doctors, nurses and personnel who will provide medical services “is going to take exceptional care of every single patient that crosses the threshold,” Gardner said. “We’re here to serve the community,” she said.
A boon for local first responders with the new medical facility is the close proximity of an emergency department so that they can transport patients with injuries that meet medical protocols.
The Oxford Fire Department can take patients to the emergency room, while the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office Oxford Township substation and the Oxford Police Department will be able to take people to the facility for blood draws.
Chris Haney, EMS Coordinator and Injury Prevention for McLaren Oakland, has spent 40 years in EMS during his career and said he loves the new facility.
“The paramedic and EMS folks are all so excited about it that they can have a quality location with an emergency department for optimal care and be back in service in minutes versus an hour,” Haney said. “I think it’s going to be a timely savings for the EMS crews to get back into their response areas, when they can go ahead and drop patients off here that meet the protocol and not have to travel distances.”
“I have the honor of working with some of the best firefighters, paramedics and EMTs in the nation right here,” Wahl said. “I see their passion every day. They want to do what is best for their patients and they trust us to take care of them and make them better. They care about the follow-up and are always asking me how they can improve.”
Professional tradespeople devoted almost 80,000 hours of on-site time to constructing the new McLaren Oakland – Oxford facility, according to Project Director Jacob Munchiando, of AUCH Construction, the Pontiac-based company that built the facility.