CareSource announces plans for health hub at former Good Samaritan Hospital site

The YMCA of Greater Dayton anticipates filling half of the 50,000-square-foot facility. Other partners include United Way of the Greater Dayton Area, Goodwill Easterseals Miami Valley, County Corp and Wright State University.

CareSource will have about 1,342 square feet of the new building. The overall project is expected to cost $17 million to build, but the estimated cost of CareSource’s portion was not available.

“It’s a very exciting project for us,” said Dr. Judith Davis, vice president of Care Coordination at CareSource. “I’m most excited for the community and what this project is.”

The CareSource Health Hub will be the first of its kind for the company, which will be utilizing this space to connect with clients who need help filling gaps in their health care and provide classes and services aimed at educating on topics such as lactation, parenting, cooking and living with diabetes.

“We’re going to have a fully functional kitchen,” Davis said. “We’re going to teach healthy classes to the individuals that come into this space.”

While CareSource was deciding what to use this space for, it looked at challenges the community is facing, Davis said. Diabetes is prevalent in the area with limited access to healthy food and ingredients.

Davis said CareSource found that about 74% of residents struggle accessing a grocery store, and 43% have low access to a store within a mile.

“The other things we’ll be doing with the kitchen is helping people understand and do meal planning,” Davis said. They also plan to partner with local chefs.

CareSource hopes to fill gaps by providing education on managing and living with chronic conditions like diabetes, as well as filling other gaps in care, like doctor visits and access to diabetic monitors.

Premier Health closed the former Good Samaritan Hospital in 2018 before later demolishing it, leaving behind the parking garage. In July, Dayton’s planning board approved the plan to construct a new facility on the former Good Samaritan Hospital site for the new YMCA and six partners, including CareSource.

Staff Writer Cornelius Frolik contributed to this story.