Mercy Health – St. Rita’s Medical Center announces construction of an education center designed to train new physicians.

With the support of local donors, St. Rita’s will soon begin construction on a 48,000-square-foot education center to be built on the corner of Market and Collett streets.

“St. Rita’s has a rich history of bringing needed health care to our patients and medical advancements to our community,” said Bob Baxter, president, Mercy Health – Toledo and Lima. “We now look to the future and our commitment to further the care of the Lima region through the recruitment and education of our next generation of medical professionals.”

The GME Center will house state-of-the-art simulation labs and training spaces, a 250-seat lecture hall, classrooms, team-based project work space, flexible library and study spaces as well as Graduate Medical Education leadership and team office space.

In addition to serving the needs of new physicians, the center is designed to support the on-going training needs of our current providers, nurses and medical staff. The lecture hall space will be used for large training events, national speakers and on-going training, critical in today's rapidly changing world of healthcare.

St. Rita’s has long served as a residency training site for those in Podiatry Medicine and Surgery as well as Pharmacy and has recently been accredited in Family Medicine and Internal Medicine programs. In fact, during the recent March Match Day, St. Rita’s became the home to six Family Medicine doctors, who will serve the Lima community.

Once all four programs are in place – Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Emergency Medicine, and General Surgery – St. Rita’s will welcome 32 new doctors and their families every year to the community. 

“Medicine is an evolving science and as physicians, we must continue to evolve with it,” said Dr. Kevin Casey, Chief Clinical Officer for Mercy Health – St. Rita’s Medical Center, leading GME efforts in Lima. “By investing in this building, Mercy Health and our many generous donors are helping to ensure that patients in our community will receive the highest quality and most advanced care in generations to come.”

The construction of the GME Center is just the first example of economic development achieved through the expansion of the Mercy Health - St. Rita’s Graduate Medical Education Program.

Once completed, the center will be available training space for community first responders, including fire, EMS, police and others, who would benefit from the simulation manikins and to larger education space as well.