SSM Health Opens Doors Of New Harrison Street Facility On May 3

by David Dinsmore

SSM Health hosted a celebration in late April to mark the opening of its new location at 4651 N. Harrison St. just south of I-40.

Officials with the health care organization joined other members of the community to mark the occasion and tour the new building just a few days before providers began welcoming patients on May 3.

The two-story, 33,000 square foot building will house a variety of care services to serve the growing north and east sides of the city as neighborhoods and businesses continue to grow in the area.

“This facility is a new, innovative model for outpatient and physician office services not seen before in our community,” said Dr. Kevin L. Lewis, president of SSM Health Medical Group. “The SSM Health Medical Group providers and staff are committed to providing a soothing, upscale environment for a wide range of services for the benefit of our patients.”

Familiar faces from other SSM Health’s facilities around town have made their new building to provide services to new and established patients.

Drs. Kacey Cassaday, Jeremy Holter, Kelli Koons and Ajay Varughese offer family medicine services for all ages at their offices on the first floor of the new facility.

“We are blessed to offer more convenient access to our services throughout the community,” Koons said as part of an invocation during the ribbon cutting ceremony on April 29.

Occupying the second floor will be the Women’s Health Services department with specialty offices for OB/GYN providers, Drs. Paul Jennings, Darin Sparkman, Elise Slaybaugh, Alex Avila along with Jessica Strong, APRN, and Shannon Plumb, PA-C.

Joining the family practice on the first floor will be physical therapy services as well as the SSM Health Express Clinic, which relocated its urgent care and minor medical emergency care there from its previous location on Medical Park Drive. The Harrison Street facility will also house areas for providing aesthetic procedures along with sports medicine services.

At the April 29 ceremony, Lewis gave considerable credit to Chuck Skillings, who served the facility now known as SSM Health St. Anthony Hospital – Shawnee for 42 years before retiring as chief executive officer in February 2020, for the vision of a facility that could serve the east side of Shawnee. Skillings first expressed his desire to offer access to care in the area the first time they met in 2016.

“I’m thankful for his dream and his vision that started years ago,” Lewis said. “It’s really cool to see that come to fruition.”

Current Shawnee president for SSM Angi Mohr will carry that dream forward, Lewis said.

Lewis also acknowledged the hard work and partnership with those responsible for giving the innovative Harrison Street location physical form, including Miller Architects, developers Darin Miller and David Neff and general contractor Miller-Tippens Construction. This building is the second new facility SSM is opening this month with the help of Miller and Neff, who also designed the newest location in El Reno.

SSM Health Oklahoma president and CEO Joe Hodges told the story of the Fransiscan Sisters of Mary who came to Oklahoma 120 years ago to raise money for their health ministry in Missouri. Ministers in Oklahoma negotiated with the nuns to help establish a health ministry locally as well, and it has grown ever since.

“They would be ultimately proud of the expansion of their ministry into the Shawnee community,” Hodges said. “This (building) is one more visual that shows we are here to help improve the health of this community.”

SSM Health Medical Group will continue to offer services at its locations on Kethley, near SSM Health St. Anthony Hospital – Shawnee, after the opening of the location on Harrison.

“We are pleased to reaffirm our commitment to serving Shawnee and surrounding communities by expanding convenient, high-end services,” Lewis said.

ABOVE: SSM Health Medical Group opened its newest Shawnee location at 4651 N. Harrison St. offering primary care, women’s health, urgent care, sports medicine, physical therapy and aesthetics in a 33,000 square foot, two-story facility. RIGHT: SSM Health Medical Group president Dr. Kevin L. Lewis cuts the ribbon for the new medical complex at 4651 N. Harrison St. along with SSM providers and administrators and the developers and contractors involved in the construction of the facility. Photos by David Dinsmore