SAXONBURG — Officials with the Butler Health System view its newest outpatient facility here as the future of health care.

Ken DeFurio, chief operating officer for the health system, said Friday afternoon at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for South Butler Commons that outpatient service is the answer to rising medical and insurance costs.

“The reality is providing high quality health care in a low cost setting,” he said.

DeFurio said much medical treatment can be addressed through outpatient services.

He said during an interview that Saxonburg is a key location for the health system to serve residents in the area.

“Southeastern Butler County is one of the fastest growing areas,” DeFurio said.

The medical facility, which is on Alwine Street off Rebecca Street, provides outpatient testing and diagnostics, including X-ray, MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), CT (computed tomography) scan, ultrasound, digital mammography, EKG (electrocardiogram) and echocardiology.

South Butler Commons also will be the site for the second BHS FastERcare, where patients can be treated for nonlife-threatening injuries, such as strains and sprains.

The FastERcare service is expected to be operational by the end of the September.

Once open, patients will be able to check in using an electronic kiosk. FastERcare manager Diane Carlantonio said people will have the option of speaking to a person instead of using a touch-screen monitor.

Carlantonio said people with serious injuries and illnesses still will have to go to a hospital, but they can be stabilized at FastERcare for transport.

The two-story, 23,500-square-foot building also is the site of Dr. Kathryn A. Ryan’s family medical and aesthetic practice.

Ryan’s aesthetic services include skin tightening, Botox and laser vein treatments.

She agreed with DeFurio that an emphasis on outpatient care is the future of medicine.

“I envision this place as a hallmark for the rest of the state,” Ryan said during the ceremony.

Her new office is an expansion since her practice was formerly on Main Street.

“This is my field of dreams,” she said.

South Butler Commons also houses a new office for podiatrist Dr. Anthony Smaldino.

He said the idea to build a new outpatient facility in the borough occurred to him several years ago when he ended up treating two injured football players at Knoch High School.

Smaldino realized people in southeastern Butler County were often traveling to another county outpatient care.

Having previously partnered with BHS, he got the ball rolling.

“All we’ve done is connect the dots,” Smaldino.

Ryan also is a partner in the venture.

The medical building also is the site for Daniel Sundie’s Family Physical Therapy and Ronald D. Jones Financial Services.

Borough officials attended the ribbon-cutting. Council vice president Pat Rinebolt welcomed the new medical facility.

“It is a wonderful thing for the borough,” she said during an interview.

Rinebolt said the outpatient services will be useful every time someone has an injury at home.

“We always have emergencies,” she said.

The project also factored in environmental concerns. The building uses geothermal heating.

“It’s a green building,” Smaldino said.

Construction still is occurring on the second floor, which still has open space to rent.