'Wellness' a focus for new Mercy Health Lorain market chief

The new market president overseeing Lorain's Mercy Health Hospital is focused not just on treating sickness in the hospital, but improving wellness in the community. Dr. John Luellen is now the market president for both Mercy Health Lorain and Mercy Health Youngstown. His responsibilities are strategic development of the hospital and its mission as well as oversight of all doctors employed or affiliated with Mercy Health. Luellen replaces Ed Oley, who retired Jan. 1 after 43 years with Mercy Health. Mercy Health previously announced that it would merge the market presidencies and that Luellen would take over the merged position. A longtime emergency physician and administrator, Luellen told The Chronicle-Telegram that the Lorain and Youngstown markets he serves have "striking similiarities." Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley, Lorain and Elyria have populations facing significant social issues that result in older, poorer and sicker communities. "As a mission-driven, faith-based organization, we are charged with trying to provide the best care possible to those most at-risk," he said in an interview Tuesday. The markets "fit nicely with our mission, who we are and where we choose to exist." There is "great evidence" that Lorain County residents have needs for services Luellen said Mercy Health can provide. He said the hospital is looking at expanding the depth, complexity and breadth of those services so that Lorain Countians don't have to cross county lines to seek out medical treatment. Mercy Health Hospital on Kolbe Road in Lorain is a Level III trauma center and the only remaining birthing center in the county. It also is in the process of upgrading two cardiac catheter labs, Luellen said, and a new behaviorial health space to help those with mental health and substance abuse concerns just opened in its emergency department. The new Behavioral Health Access Center opened Feb. 17 and gives "compassionate, specialized care to patients with mental health and addiction emergencies," according to the hospital. It was built with a $325,000 grant awarded to the hospital in 2019, with the assistance of Lorain County Community College. The new Sheffield Village Medical Office Building will soon be open on Detroit Road, and Luellen said primary care "is absolutely foundational to what we do" next to the focus on wellness. A community health needs assessment and community health improvement plan are in the works, and may be "a great opportunity to focus on wellness," he said. "The broad breadth of services we offer is a great starting point for us to tackle some more of those different services that have not been provided in the county," Luellen said. He said Mercy Health also is increasing efforts to develop educational partnerships and, in what he said is a "historically uncommon" move in healthcare, offering full-paid educational benefits to employees and associates as of their date of hire. That includes both on-site and online opportunities, he said, for employees seeking certifications or additional training and schooling. Increased physician education also is in the works, including developing more primary care doctors in the county. Luellen joined Mercy Health as chief operating officer of the Youngstown market in 2018 and rose to market president later that year. He earned a bachelor's degree in molecular biology from Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania, his medical degree from the Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine and a masters degree in public management from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, the city where he also did his medical residency. Luellen and his wife, Michele, have three sons and a daughter, all college-age. Luellen isn't coming to the office not knowing the community and his role, as he and Oley worked to transition Luellen into the job "so it's not so much flipping a switch," but a gradual transition of services that Luellen called "a very, very good process." By the end of the month, he said, he will have met with the medical staff, board and board committees. Luellen said he plans to meet with local mayors and political figures to introduce himself, finishing up those meetings by the end of April. Mercy Health will celebrate 130 years of service to Lorain County later this year. "We hope to evolve, rather than have a dramatic shift, in the way we do business," Luellen said. "What the community will increasingly see is a strategic evolution to the nature of the care we provide, so we can continue to effectively serve the community." Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com. Follow him on Twitter @daveobrienCT.