RAVENNA − City officials celebrated the opening of AxessPointe clinic during an event June 5.
The clinic at 771 N. Freedom St. offers health, dental and mental health care in one location.
It is the ninth location for the federally qualified health center and the second to open in Portage County. Other locations are in Summit, Mahoning and Warren counties, along with a mobile unit.
The newest AxessPointe had its a soft opening in May. A pharmacy and optometry service will be added over the summer.
Mark Frisone, left, CEO of AxessPointe, and Kent Mayor Jack Amrhein share a joke June 5, 2026, at AxessPointe’s grand opening in Ravenna. The clinic offers medical, dental and mental health services.
Long-awaited clinic opens
Axess Family Services first announced plans to open the Ravenna health care center in 2024 at the Resources at Oakwood Campus at 705 Oakwood St., a structure that once housed the Portage County Health District.
But months later, after Children’s Advantage and Axess Family Servicesmerged, the combined agency decided to relocate North Freedom Street, where Children’s Advantage opened a counseling center in 2022.
The clinic offers its mental health services to children. All other services are for people of all ages. Adults in need of mental health care will be referred to AxessPointe’s location in Kent.
Portage County Commissioner Jill Crawford speaks June 5 at the grand opening of AxessPointe in Ravenna. The clinic offers medical, dental and mental health services, and is planning to add optometry and pharmacy services over the summer.
Officials say clinic is needed
Mayor Frank Seman said two members of his family worked at AxessPointe’s building back when it was a manufacturing facility.
“This is very important to the city of Ravenna,” he said. “We have clientele who are going to use this place.”
AxessPointe’s entrance is decorated with balloons in preparation for the Ravenna clinic’s June 5 grand opening. The clinic offers medical, dental and mental health services, and is planning to add optometry and pharmacy services this summer.
Portage County Commissioner Jill Crawford said the clinic is “an asset to Portage County” and “makes health care more accessible to families in need.”
John Garrity, executive director of the Mental Health and Recovery Board of Portage County, noted that levy dollars helped pay for the center. He said the board wants to remind people that mental health is “the same kind of health care” as any other, and hopes to erase the stigma many associate with it.
“Kids can come here, and nobody has to know why they’re here,” he said. “I can’t wait to see this place fill up with kids and everyone else.”
Social services offered to patients
Mark Frisone, CEO of Axess Family Services, said people who come to AxessPointe for medical or dental care also will be referred to the agency’s social services, if a need becomes apparent during their visit. The phone system for the center also is interconnected with other agencies.
“It’s happening more and more,” Frisone said.
The dental clinic, which already was booked weeks in advance when it opened May 18, now is booked through July.
“We invested heavily into dental here because it’s such a crying need,” Frisone said.
Reporter Diane Smith can be reached at dsmith@recordpub.com.
This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Ravenna, Portage leaders celebrate AxessPointe’s opening