Milford Wellness Village Welcomes LaRed
By Terry Rogers via MilfordLive.com
In celebration of National Health Center Week, Nationwide Health Care Services welcomed LaRed Health Center to the Milford Wellness Village. The site of the former Bayhealth Milford Memorial Hospital campus on Clarke Avenue will be the site of the Wellness Village and LaRed is relocating their Milford location to the campus in order to increase services to their clients.
“On behalf of the board and staff, we are really excited about our partnership with Nationwide,” Brian Olson, CEO of LaRed Health Center, said. “Not only have they been easy to work with but they also understand our needs and mission. They get it. Our board always had its sites on growing in Milford and it was serendipitous that this location came available. We are so happy that Nationwide had the space to accommodate us as this means we can add dental services to our practice. This will be a huge benefit to the people of this area and we hope it allows us to further meet the needs of this community.”
A celebration was held on Wednesday, August 7 in what will be the lobby of the new LaRed Health Center at the Wellness Village. United States Senator Tom Carper, State Senator Dave Wilson, as well as Representatives Bryan Shupe and Charles Postles joined represesntatives of several healthcare organizations to celebrate National Health Center Week and the addition of LaRed to the Wellness Village location.
“I love the spirit of partnership that underlies this project,” Senator Tom Carper said. “Government has many roles. We expect the government to protect us, to provide transportation. We expect the government to make sure healthy babies are born and to make sure kids get immunizations. We expect the government to be sure our kids get proper nutrition. But the government cannot do everything and what we are able to do, we can always do better. LaRed is a good example of community healthcare and now, they will be able to offer dental services as well.”
Senator Wilson commented that he started his life in Milford Memorial Hospital and, although he hoped he would never need the service of long-term care, he knew that if he did, Nationwide would be there to provide that service.
“Maintaining good health is important,” Senator Wilson Said. “Izaak Walton said ‘Look to your health, and if you have it, praise God and value it next to conscience, for health is the second blessing that we mortals are capable of, a blessing money can’t buy.’ This is certainly true. We all know good health requires resources. Having LaRed in the Wellness Village will help more people gain access to good health. We have just one life to live and having access to good healthcare allows us to live a longer, healthier life.”
Representative Shupe viewed the Wellness Village and LaRed’s decision to join Nationwide at the location as an example of community building and partnership.
“When Bayhealth made the decision to move to Route 1 while I was Mayor of Milford, I was constantly asked what would happen to the Clarke Avenue building,” State Representative Shupe said. “Bayhealth was serious about their commitment to our community and brought Nationwide on board. The leadership at Nationwide has the vision for this property that will help Milford grow in a positive direction. Bringing LaRed on is a great benefit. People often do not know where to go when they don’t have insurance, have moved to a new location or are simply trying to find a doctor. LaRed fills that need. Just seeing the Milford Wellness Village from a concept in a board room to it actually happening is exciting.”
Meir Gelley, CEO of Nationwide, gave credit to Senator Carper for his support of Nationwide over the years as well as his desire to improve lives in any way possible.
“Senator Carper is a dear partner with Nationwide,” Gelley said. “He is a champion of improving infrastructure. When you think of infrastructure, you usually think of roads, bridges and tunnels, but healthcare is also part of our infrastructure. Our Wellness Village will create a convergence of comprehensive care with the addition of LaRed. From the first time I met with Terry Murphy of Bayhealth, I knew that this was the perfect location for our next facility and we are so very excited to bring the Wellness Village to Milford.”
The Milford Wellness Village, LaRed and other businesses planned for the Clarke Avenue property will open at different times throughout late 2019 and early 2020.