According to a social media post from Oxford Township, McLaren Oakland has plans to construct a two-story, 54,000 square-foot ambulatory facility at 385 N. Lapeer Road – the current location of the group’s Oxford Urgent Care & Occupational Health Center.

According to the post, “No applications or plans have been submitted for review or approval at this point. However, (Oxford Township) Supervisor (Jack) Curtis recently met with Tracey Franovich, president and CEO of McLaren Oakland; Chad Grant, executive vice president and chief operating officer of McLaren Health Care; and Greg Lane, executive vice president and chief administrative officer of McLaren Health Care. During that meeting, McLaren representatives presented Supervisor Curtis with a rendering of the proposed facility and shared their vision.”

The post said the new facility would replace “McLaren’s existing 42-year-old building, representing a $35 million investment in our community. It’s a two-year construction project, according to McLaren.”

The proposed building would include:

• Freestanding emergency department

• Comprehensive diagnostic imaging center

• Oncology clinic including pharmacy

• Physical therapy and cardiac rehab

• Lab

• Primary care services

• Multi-specialty clinic

Once the new facility is completed, McLaren plans to demolish the existing building, which opened in 1980.

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On Sept. 14 Curtis, Oxford Fire Chief Pete Sholz and Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard traveled to our state’s capital to convince Michigan’s Certificate of Need (CON) Commission of Oxford’s need for an acute care hospital. For the last several years the CON Commission has declined multiple attempts to build a hospital in Oxford.

According to another post from the township, the five closest hospitals to Oxford are 16 to 22.4 miles away and it takes about 20 minutes to get to one. Oxford and the three townships adjacent to it (Orion, Brandon and Addison) have a combined population of more than 80,000 people.

“(Fire) Chief Scholz explained to the commission that the number of fire and medical calls handled by the Oxford Fire Department has increased by 43.2 percent over the last 10 years. The call volume went from 1,550 in 2011 to 2,220 in 2021. Of the 2,220 calls last year, 81.6 percent (1,812) were medical calls.” — Don Rush