(12/16) A new health and wellness center may be coming to the Emmitsburg area within the next few years. Recently, Mount St. Mary’s University (MSMU) has partnered with Frederick Regional Health System (FRHS) in an effort to improve the quality and access for the expanding health care needs of the university’s students.

Simon Blackwell, MSMU’s Chief Transformation Officer, remarked that both the University and FRHS are equally committed to serving the local community; this new center may be yet another avenue to bring better healthcare options to the community of Emmitsburg.

MSMU and FRHS are still in the early, exploratory phases of discussing the construction of a health and wellness center on the periphery of MSMU’s property to provide primary care, urgent care, a lab, radiology and physical therapy for students, local residents and members of the general public whose current health care options are limited. The vision of this center would ideally allow students of the university as well as members of the community to utilize its resources and healthcare options. The overall goal of this project would be to improve access to healthcare for MSMU’s students and employees as well as citizens of or visitors to northern Frederick County. However, according to Blackwell, there are a lot of points that still need to be worked out and final feasibility of the project must be determined.

Although still in its early phases, Blackwell noted that the project would most likely be funded through joint investments by the Mount and FRHS. Depending on the final scope of the project, and if the project is determined to be feasible, the facility may be open as early as 2020.

In an effort to better understand the needs of the Mount community as well as the community of Emmitsburg, MSMU and FRHS are seeking public input on the community health care needs and considerations for the placement of a facility, should it be deemed feasible. An open meeting offered to members of the community, town staff and Mount St. Mary’s students to comment and ask questions was held on December 11th at 6:30 p.m. in the O’Hara Conference Room of Patriot Hall on the Emmitsburg Mount Campus.

The Mount and FRHS will be making a more formal presentation to Emmitsburg’s Board of Commissioners and town staff during the January 7th Town Meeting. More details on this project to follow next month.