Columbus-based OhioHealth is spending $17.2 million to improve the surgical facilities at OhioHealth O'Bleness Hospital, which performed more than 3,000 surgeries last year.
The capital investment will be used to update surgical suites, operating rooms, the post anesthesia care unit, sterile processing area and other support and storage areas.
OhioHealth said it has invested more than $50 million in the Athens, Ohio, hospital since it joined the system in 2014. In recent years, OhioHealth added a new ICU, expanded the hospital's emergency department, transitioned the hospital to the CareConnect EHR and built a new medical office building.
"The project reflects progress toward our goals of keeping care local and creating a regional hub for specialty services," LeeAnn Lucas-Helber, president of the hospital, said in an Aug. 13 news release. "The investment in these facilities will enable us to keep more surgical care local and provide an improved experience for our surgery patients."
Construction is anticipated to be completed in January 2026.