Clarksburg’s Psychiatric Hospital Partners With Mon Health

Mon Health and Highland-Clarksburg Hospital announced a management and clinical partnership this week. It’s not a merger; the hospital will maintain its own local board.

“We as a hospital have an area of expertise in inpatient care. Mon Health has an area of expertise in outpatient and telehealth services,” Highland-Clarksburg’s executive director Vickie Jones said. “Together, we will be able to combine the knowledge and the expertise that we have from the clinical perspective. And as a result, the patients that we care for will receive much better care.”

The hospital is one of just a handful of acute, inpatient psychiatric hospitals in the state.

It serves West Virginia’s most vulnerable mental health patients from across the state, including those committed against their will. The hospital opened in 2013 and operates 115 beds.

Jones said pooling together management resources with the larger Mon Health system will cut costs. In turn, that could help Highland-Clarksburg hire more staff and offer more services. The affiliation will also connect the hospital with other providers serving similar clients.

“We have a real lack of behavioral health services in this state. And in particular, for our youth population,” Jones said. “Working collaboratively with the Mon Health System will actually create an environment where we can serve individuals at home, because of the lack of services that currently exist.”

This announcement comes just weeks after Mon Health announced a merger with Charleston Area Medical Center.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting with support from Charleston Area Medical Center and Marshall Health.