technology and services. Emergency
services, intensive care units, a
nuclear medicine facility, ambulatory
services and more were continually
updated and expanded.
The hospital continued to grow
throughout the 1970s into the 1980s
with the addition of a new pharmacy,
a central sterile supply, materials
handling, maintenance facilities and
more.
As Ashtabula General continued
to grow, it also faced new challenges.
Healthcare was moving from reacting
to the health needs of the community
to providing preventive medical care
as well. As part of this change, the
Ashtabula General Board of Trustees
voted to change the name of the facility
to Ashtabula County Medical Center.
In 1985, ACMC added a new
Cardiac Services Department. Heart
attacks and other cardiac problems
have long plagued Ashtabula County,
and we noted in a recent Community
Health Needs Assessment that those
heart problems remain a major cause
of illness and death today.
In the early 1990s, discussions
of healthcare reform began on a
national level.
Taking action
Leadership at ACMC did not wait for
the federal government to take the
lead on a new system. They created
one to benefit all of Ashtabula County
by merging The Ashtabula Clinic,
a group of family and specialty
physicians, with ACMC. This was a
new model of an integrated physician-
hospital delivery system for improved
healthcare. The Ashtabula Clinic
physicians handled all outpatient
cases, while hospital physicians
handled all inpatient cases.
ACMC patients now have access
to 43 ACMC and Cleveland Clinic
physicians—as well as nurse
practitioners—at The Ashtabula
Clinic and more than 90 local
physicians who have privileges at
ACMC.
The Ashtabula Clinic has grown
to include four offices in Ashtabula,
Conneaut, Jefferson and North
Kingsville, as well as a Women’s
Health Center in Ashtabula.
In 2001, the ACMC Board of
Trustees voted to enter into an
affiliation with Cleveland Clinic,
long known as a benchmark for
quality healthcare. The affiliation
meant access to new physicians
and services.
The Cleveland Clinic
Catheterization Lab at ACMC
opened in 2008. This gave
Ashtabula County patients
access to the gold standard in
heart diagnostics, to detect
blockages and other
potential problems before
they became an emergency.
Other accomplishments in the
2000s include a renovated Maternity
Suite, the only labor and delivery
unit in Ashtabula County; a new
Behavioral Medicine Unit; and
new technology for our Radiology
Department.
In recent months, we have spent
millions of dollars for new digital
mammography equipment, new
endoscopes, and more technology
and procedures to provide better
healthcare through minimally
invasive surgery. It all means you
spend little to no time in the hospital
and are on the road to recovery fast,
with less time away fromwork or the
things you love to do.
Some things never change
Our commitment to our community
comes from the same vision of those
Ashtabula citizens who long ago saw
a future with great medical care in
their hometown.
As we move forward into the next
110 years of growth at ACMC, I know
that we can only do so with the support
of our local citizens and communities.
It’s the relationship that got us started,
the one that kept us going throughout
the years and the one that will
sustain us far into the future.
ACMC celebrates 110 years of
community healthcare
Continued from page 3
ASHTABULA COUNTY
MEDICAL CENTER
2420 Lake Ave.
Ashtabula, OH 44004-4993
Nonprofit Org.
U.S. Postage
PAID
Ashtabula, OH
Permit No. 513
SPRING 2014
ACMC PULSE is published as a community
service for the friends and patrons of:
Ashtabula County Medical Center
2420 Lake Ave.
Ashtabula, OH 44004-4993
440-997-2262
Information in ACMC PULSE comes from a wide
range of medical experts. Models may be used in
photos and illustrations. If you have any concerns
or questions about specific content that may
affect your health, please contact your healthcare
provider.
Copyright © 2014
Coffey Communications
CMM30223
Pulse
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