Using a giant scissors provided by the Pekin Area Chamber of Commerce and surrounded by medical, business, and community leaders, Sister Theresa Ann Brazeau, OSF, and Sister Judith Ann Duvall, OSF, lead a ribbon cutting April 6 at the new OSF HealthCare Center for Health - Pekin. (Provided photo/Jim Carlson, OSF Saint Francis Medical Center)

PEKIN — Claiming it as “sacred ground on which human life will be served,” the new OSF HealthCare Center for Health – Pekin was blessed in ceremonies April 6 at its location in the East Court Village Shopping Center, 3422A Court St.

The new OSF HealthCare Center for Health – Pekin is located in the East Court Village Shopping Center at 3422A Court St. (Provided photo/Jim Carlson, OSF Saint Francis Medical Center)

“This wonderful center is an investment in health care and in this beautiful community that we are honored to make,” said Sister Judith Ann Duvall, OSF, chairperson of the OSF HealthCare Boards of Directors, in opening remarks.

In the past several months, that investment transformed the 18,000-square-foot former Big Lots store on the city’s southeast side into a modern medical home for primary care providers and specialists in areas such as orthopedics, general surgery, urology, rheumatology, and podiatry. The center will also offer lab services, EKGs and X-rays.

The OSF HealthCare Center for Health – Pekin will welcome its first patients on Monday, April 17. A public open house is set for Saturday, April 22, from 9 a.m. to noon.

“AN EXTENSION OF GOD’S  LOVE AND CARE”

Speaking to a crowd of nearly 100 medical, business and community leaders in the center’s lobby, Sister Judith Ann said the OSF investment will continue for years to come as caregivers serve “as an extension of God’s love and care for his people.”

Msgr. Michael Bliss, chaplain and director of pastoral care at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria, blesses the X-ray room April 6 at the new OSF HealthCare Center for Health – Pekin. (Provided photo/Jim Carlson, OSF Saint Francis Medical Center)

Prior to sprinkling holy water throughout the building, Msgr. Michael Bliss — chaplain and director of pastoral care at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria — prayed that God would bless “all those who will be served here and those who will devote themselves to caring for them.”

Dr. Chuck Dennis, senior vice president of OSF Medical Group – Central Region, said the “renewed space” represents a “renewed commitment of the Sisters” to the Pekin community.

Praising the OSF mission of Christ-inspired service to all, Dennis said “we care not for patients in this place, we care for persons — for moms, dads, sons, daughters, for grandparents, all of those we see. We care for the community.”

The center represents “a proactive approach to how we deliver care” that is “more than just a doctor’s office,” added Dr. Mike Cruz, president of OSF Saint Francis Medical Center. “It is a convenient hub in the community that provides the kind of services people desire, without requiring a trip to the hospital.”

The program ended with a ceremonial ribbon cutting followed by tours of the facility.

EDITOR’S NOTE: More photos from the blessing ceremony have been posted to The Catholic Post’s site on Facebook.