St. Catherine expands into Hessville with outpatient clinic

EAST CHICAGO | St. Catherine Hospital will open a new outpatient facility in November, hoping to fill a gap in needed family practitioners in the Hessville area, hospital officials said Monday.

Craig Bolda, the chief operating officer of St. Catherine Hospital, a facility in the Community Healthcare System, said the hospital will open Hessville Family Care Center, 3432 169th St., in the Briar East Shopping Center in Hammond.

Initially, the 6,600-square-foot clinic will have family practitioners, internal medicine physicians, obstetrics and gynecology, and pediatrics, with specialties such as orthopedic surgery, cardiology and general surgery moving into the building about three months after the opening.

Along with X-ray capabilities and an outpatient lab, the facility also will have an immediate care component where appointments aren't necessary, Bolda said.

"We had a lot of analysis done, and there is a deficit of family care physicians in that area," Bolda said. "We want to build that business out there and meet the medical needs of the community."

Bolda said the new facility will employ a mix of current and new physicians, and the facility is recruiting for a family practitioner position.

"It's a step in the right direction of making affordable health care present," he said.