Vancrest Moves Forward with Plans for New Health Care Facility in Hardin County

Vancrest Health Care Centers is officially moving forward with plans to build a new facility.

President Mark A. White made the announcement Thursday after meeting with the Hardin County Commissioners.

He said while they are still early in the process, the beds have been acquired and they have the green light from the Ohio Department of Health to develop a site, obtain financing and build a modern, clean new facility.

The location has still not been determined, and he hopes to have more on that in a couple of months.

At full residency, the facility would employee between 100 and 120 full-time employees.

White added that to operate a successful facility, you need a good staff and clean, modern buildings.

Around a year ago, Vancrest officials toured the now shuttered Hardin Hills Health Center in Kenton.

He said they were hoping to acquire the facility and keep it open while a new building was being constructed, but they found the structure was not suitable for their needs and couldn’t make it work.

No definitive timeline was given as to when they will break ground, but they have up to two years to do so, and the building will be approximately 65,000 square feet and provide 65 private rooms and around 35 assisted living rooms.

Speaking for the other two commissioners, Commissioner Fred Rush said they are “very, very happy about the announcement.”

He said it has been a process that has required one step at a time, and it is great to finally see results.