Pregnancy Care Center opens Orrville branch to expand free services

The Pregnancy Care Center of Wayne County held a soft opening Sept. 3 at its new Orrville branch, located beside Buehler's at 1020 W. High St.

Director Bekah Hilty said they had seven appointments in the eight hours they were open.

“The community has been super-welcoming, and people are excited we’re coming," Hilty said. "Several of the patients told the nurse that they were just so thankful we were there in Orrville."

The Pregnancy Care Center of Wayne County is a faith-based nonprofit that provides alternatives to abortion and is committed to saving lives physically, spiritually and emotionally. Its goal is to engage, equip and empower women to make healthy pregnancy decisions.

The PCC's board has discussed opening a branch for the past three years.

“Wayne County is very spread out," Hilty said. "However, the pregnancy rates, the abortion rates, everything keeps continuing to go up in those areas, especially the northeast corridor. We’ve always thought that if we ever tried to have more of a presence in the county, it’s going to be in that area."

Hilty has been part of the Orrville Chamber of Commerce, Leadership Orrville and Orrville Rotary and is involved in the community. She asked some city officials a while back what their biggest need in Orrville was, and they said they needed more nonprofits.

“Whenever we do anything, we ask if there is a need for it, and so it really felt like it checked all those boxes," Hilty said. "It really was kind of perfect because it gives us a medical side, and it gives us a client services side, and it was just 1,500 square feet. It was the ideal size."

The PCC teaches seventh-graders and eighth-graders and their abstinence education class at Orrville High School.

“We have a big presence with the school, so we wanted to be as close to the school as possible," Hilty said.

Patients at the Orrville location can receive free medical services including pregnancy testing, ultrasounds, STD testing and treatment.

Clients can take parenting classes and earn credits to shop in the Baby Boutique, also at the Orrville location. Parenting classes last an hour and are one-on-one with a client advocate. Clients can choose from a range of topics offered in the curriculum including pregnancy information, breastfeeding, potty training, temper tantrums, finances, budgeting, fatherhood and co-parenting.

Everything is free and confidential.

People can choose to use the medical side or the client side.

“They can come for a medical appointment, and then they can sign up for all the support," Hilty said. "And that’s kind of the ideal situation because we want to be able to support them in their journey."

The PCC has a long history of support from the community. Its annual banquet is Oct. 2 at the Greystone Event Center in Wooster with Lysa TerKeurst, speaker and author of Christian nonfiction and president of Proverbs 31 Ministries.

“We sold out in three days," Hilty said. "Currently, we have over 950 people, and we have people on the wait list."

She said they already had the staffing built up in Wooster to support the Orrville location. Currently, they're closed on Wednesdays in Wooster, which is why they're open on Wednesdays in Orrville.

“We might consider adding another day, but we just want to see what the need is and what the demand is,” Hilty said.

The Orrville location will be open Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wooster remains the main location where they provide all their services.

An open house is planned for Friday, Sept. 19 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. A ribbon-cutting ceremony will take place at noon with the Orrville Chamber of Commerce. People should park at the Buehler’s parking lot because space is limited at the PCC.

“People can come and see the facility and check it out," Hilty said. "Even though we’ve been around since 1984, there’s still so many people that don't know what we do, who we are, what our mission is and what we provide. People always say, ‘I had no idea this even existed.’”

Donations needed include new baby clothing, thermometers, nail clippers, aspirators, combs and brushes, size 3 diapers, and receiving blankets. More store attendant volunteers also are needed at the Orrville location.

Call 330-960-2326 for more information.