Baptist Health Hardin expands services with new facility in Cecilia

(ELIZABETHTOWN, KY)  March 11, 2025 –  Baptist Health Hardin is expanding its healthcare services with a new facility in southern Hardin County. Construction began in late 2024 on the new structure, which will house a diagnostic center, an urgent care and a primary care practice.

Expected to open in fall 2025, this facility is expected to address a population boom driven by ongoing economic development in the region. The construction follows the opening of the Baptist Health Hardin Medical Pavilion on the hospital campus in November 2024.

“This new facility will help address the growing demand for healthcare services in the southern part of our county, where industry and the population are expanding rapidly,” said Robert Ramey, president of Baptist Health Hardin. “We are excited to grow alongside our communities, as we strive to increase access to healthcare for our neighbors to the south. This expansion will be especially beneficial to our patients who have traditionally had to travel farther for care.”

• A 6,680-square-foot diagnostic center offering full-service imaging including MRI, CT scan, ultrasound, X-ray, mammography and DEXA scan, as well as laboratory services. This will be Baptist Health’s fourth diagnostic center in Hardin County and its seventh in central Kentucky. Diagnostic centers outside Hardin County are located in LaRue, Meade and Nelson counties.
• A 4,200-square-foot urgent care center, which will be the fourth Baptist Health Urgent Care in Hardin County. The new facility will also provide occupational medicine services and will employ additional physicians and staff. Locally, Baptist Health currently operates two urgent care clinics in Elizabethtown and one in Radcliff with one additional urgent care slated to open in Bardstown.  It operates one occupational medicine clinic in Elizabethtown.
• A 12,000-square-foot space for a Baptist Health Medical Group Family Medicine practice. When construction is complete, the practice, which is currently operating at 2411 Ring Road, will relocate to the Cecilia facility. Providers Jahin Patel, MD, along with Kasey Kindervater, APRN, Shaun Milby, APRN, and Chandra Payne, APRN, will relocate with the practice to the new space. They will be joined by four new providers, the addition of whom will help meet the increasing demand for healthcare services.

“Opening an urgent care center in this area will enhance access to immediate healthcare services while also alleviating patient volume in the hospital’s emergency department,” said Sheila Smallwood, vice president of operations for Baptist Health Medical Group in central Kentucky. “By integrating primary care and diagnostic services, we aim to reduce wait times for appointments and provide comprehensive, convenient care close to home.”

“Baptist Health Hardin remains one of Kentucky’s top three busiest emergency departments for outpatient visits, and our urgent care centers are among the top five busiest in the Baptist Health system,” said Ramey. “This investment ensures we can continue meeting the healthcare needs of our growing community well into the future.”