Topping Ceremony Held At Lakewood Family Health Center

LAKEWOOD, OH — On Aug. 4, construction workers, medical professionals and Cleveland Clinic administrators gathered at the site of the future Lakewood Family Health Clinic. They were there for a topping ceremony, celebrating the completion of the structure of the new building. After being painted white and signed by everyone at the event, the final steel beam was bolted in place, a commemorative event notching another step towards the opening of the new facility.

Since construction first started on the 62,000-square foot facility on April 4, 2017, more than 62 construction workers have logged 6,983 hours at the site, a Cleveland Clinic spokesperson told Patch. The Family Health Clinic, a $34 million facility, is still on-pace to open in the summer of 2018.

The next step of construction will include the finishing of the exterior. That means 14601 Detroit Ave. will start to resemble an operating medical facility soon and workers can build out the interior of the facility during Northeast Ohio's famously cruel winter.

"This is a huge moment for us. The steel structure is in place. The building is coming together. It was nice to have a ceremony to bring together everyone to celebrate construction on the building," said Dr. James Hekman, medical director of Lakewood Family Health Center and Cleveland Clinic Lakewood.

Besides offering a 24-7 emergency room, family medical care, and internal medicine, the facility will also feature the Center for LGBT care, which will be staffed by doctors experienced in the needs of the LGBT community. (Subscribe to the Patch Lakewood newsletter for local news and updates.)

"We will be offering world-class medical care. Our caregivers are invested in the health and wellness of this community," Heckman told Patch. "We are providing, not only care for the sick, but overall population health."

A spokesperson for the Cleveland Clinic did not respond to Patch's question on staffing numbers at the new facility.

The Family Health Center replaces Lakewood Hospital. The new facility will be controversial for a portion of Lakewood residents who opposed the loss of the hospital, namely citizens that were looking for a nay vote on Issue 64 during the November 2016 elections.

A lawsuit against the Cleveland Clinic, filed by a group of Lakewood residents, was dismissed last week. The residents wanted to force the Clinic to continue operating Lakewood Hospital through 2026, instead of opening the Family Health Center, Becker's Hospital Review reported.

In his opinion dismissing the lawsuit, Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge John P. O'Donnell wrote, "Such an order would be impossible to enforce because it could never contain an unambiguous statement of what is, and is not, in the city's interest."

The resident activists told cleveland.com they plan to appeal O'Donnell's dismissal.

The lawsuit was the latest development in a long struggle between two factions within the city that have been debating what should be done, if anything, with the Lakewood Hospital site. In fact, when construction on the new Health Center started in April, protesters loitered outside the announcement area, carrying signs that read, "Save Lakewood Hospital!" and "A heart attack can't wait!"

Photos from Cleveland Clinic