WVU Medicine, Gov. Justice Announce Plans to Bridge Health Care Gap in Northern Panhandle

Gov. Jim Justice and WVU Medicine held a press conference today at Wheeling Hospital to announce preliminary plans to cover the health care and job gap left in the Northern Panhandle following the announcement of two hospital closures last month. 

WVU Medicine CEO Albert Wright said WVU-owned Reynolds Memorial Hospital had recently hired a handful of new physicians and plans to add 9-10 new exam rooms within its emergency department, which will allow the hospital to support an additional 15,000 patient visits per year.

Wheeling Hospital, which entered into a management agreement with WVU earlier this year, and RMH are also working to open three new instant care centers in the area.

And to make up for the loss of Ohio Valley Medical Center’s prominent psychiatric care facility, Wright announced that WVU Medicine intends to add 25 inpatient beds at Wheeling Hospital and 25 inpatient beds at RMH over the long term. In the short term, the hospitals are working to outfit existing rooms for psychiatric patients. 

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