Health practice triples size at new location

By MATTHEW SCHOMER, Journal Staff Writer

July 14, 2008

COLUMBIANA — A health care provider in the city will be expanding its floor space by more than three times when its new facility opens in December. Prima Health Care is planning to replace its current 6,000-square-foot facility in the Dollar General plaza with a 20,000-square-foot facility near Firestone Farms.

Weve been bursting at the seams at that place, said Dr. Steve DeMaiolo, chief executive officer of Prima Health Care, noting that physicians have been wanting to join the practice, and the number of patients is too large for the current building to handle.

At its opening, DeMaiolo said the medical facility will have eight physicians, although there will be room for more to move in later. The eight include the five doctors currently working for Prima in Columbiana as well as three area doctors who are under contract to join Prima when the new facility opens, although DeMaiolo will not release the names of those doctors at this time.

One of the aspects that makes Prima special, DeMaiolo said, is its open access model, which allows current or new patients to see a doctor without making an appointment. The current open access hours are from 1 to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, but once the new facility opens, he said extra hours will be added from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.

We dont think the patients should be put off when they want or need an appointment, he remarked. Thats the kind of service people expect this day and age, but seldom frankly get in the medical field.

Another improvement he is hoping to add is the inclusion of medical specialists to the health care provider, although he would not speculate on what specific specialty fields residents might expect to see there.

DeMaiolo has had the vision of expanding Prima for years, and he had originally gone to the city planning commission with the intent of building on the west end of the city, but utility problems forced the building out of its first prospective lot and into a location at 107 Royal Birkdale Drive, at the state Route 7 entrance to Firestone Farms. DeMaiolo is hoping the east end location will allow Prima to offer more services to people in the the East Palestine, Rogers and Western Pennsylvania areas.

Prima Health Care also has locations in Salem, Boardman and Austintown. The Boardman branch is expanding from 5,000 square feet to 14,000 square feet, adding even more room for doctor and patient population.

But Columbiana is starting to look like the focal point for the company. The administrative offices, which are currently scattered across the four different locations, will converge into the new Columbiana location, DeMaiolo noted.

We feel that Columbiana is really going to be the headquarters of this practice, he said, explaining that recent trends have shown the most patients coming from the Columbiana area.