Mike Wolanin | The Republic Dave Lenart, vice president of strategic facility planning and operations for Columbus Regional Health, from left, Jim Bickel, president and CEO of Columbus Regional Health, and Dr. Rachel Reed, vice president and associate chief medical officer for Columbus Regional Health, prepare to cut a ribbon during an open house for the new Columbus Regional Health facility at NexusPark in Columbus, Ind., Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024.
Seeing is believing, and many members of the community got their first look inside a portion of NexusPark last week as Columbus Regional Health celebrated the grand opening of its portion of the campus on Wednesday.
The Republic’s Brian Blair and Mike Wolanin were there documenting NexusPark’s first opening ceremonies in words and photos, respectively, and Blair commented afterward that he was hard-pressed to recognize the former FairOaks Mall. The bones of the building have been repurposed as a new sort of gathering place that will serve the community for years to come.
“The old skylights may be the only element in the hospital’s segment of NexusPark that visitors recognize from the former FairOaks facility,” Blair wrote.
“As you can imagine, turning a shopping mall into a health care facility was not an easy feat,” said Jim Bickel, president and CEO of Columbus Regional Health, mentioning that the project also had to be guided through the pandemic and its hurdles. “But we’ve used a significant amount of input from our patients, our customers, physicians, and other health care professionals to design the space and bring it to a reality.
“So the addition of this facility for CRH helps further our mission to improve the health and well-being of those that we serve, and aligns with our strategy to grow high-quality care and services, as well as to attract and retain top talent.”
NexusPark has been several years in the making and will be home to more than 14 CRH practices and support services when all is said and done later this year.
Last week’s celebrations were the first of several that will take place this year as NexusPark gets finishing touches on the portions belonging to CRH and to the city. Those include the cavernous new Circle K Fieldhouse and facilities for the Columbus Department of Parks and Recreation, among others.
The Republic in its editorials has been outspoken in its support for the NexusPark project as an ideal meeting-of-the-minds between the city and CRH on an adaptive reuse of the former mall that will serve the community for years to come.
After years of community planning and work on the ground, it’s a great feeling to see this project finally coming to fruition. We look forward to many more celebrations dedicating the opening of more NexusPark amenities in the months ahead.
View a gallery of photos from last week’s ribbon cutting at the link below.
