BELLVILLE -– Starting next week, Bellville residents won’t need to travel far to access health care services.

Avita Health System will open a 7-day-per-week, walk-in clinic Monday, with hours from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily, closed on holidays.

“Our goal for this location is to bring as much service as possible to this area,” said Avita CEO and president, Jerome Morasko, at a Thursday evening open house and ribbon-cutting event.

The 5,772 square-foot facility, located at 987 State Route 97 West in Bellville, includes nine exam rooms, two procedure rooms and an x-ray machine.

It will provide a walk-in clinic and specialty physician services on a rotating basis. Services will include cardiology, general surgery, urology, orthopedics and sports medicine.

“The community will be able to get most of their care done right here,” Morasko said.

This is something that wasn’t possible before, according to Bellville Mayor Teri Brenkus. She recalled driving her children elsewhere for doctor’s visits when they were young.

Construction for the facility broke ground in October.

At that time, Morasko joked Richland County commissioner and former Bellville Mayor Darrell Banks “bugged” Avita to come to Bellville.

“He pushed us all the time to get down here, to get some healthcare in this part of the community,” Morasko said.

The building’s design was created by Seckel Group Architects. At the groundbreaking ceremony, owner Dan Seckel said roof monitors will help bring daylight into the building, making it more energy efficient.

Avita had waited to begin construction until October out of respect for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. The site was located in a migration zone for the Indiana bat.  The facility was then expected to be ready for August.

Land for the facility was donated anonymously.

The Bellville clinic is part of the original financing from the United States Department of Agriculture, which also funded Ontario’s Avita Hospital.

The new clinic will provide about 20 new jobs.

This Avita location can be reached by calling 567-560-3790.

“We look forward to servicing Bellville. We think it’s going to be a great part of the Avita family, and it does finally bring healthcare to this part of our service area,” Morasko said.