picture by: John McCabe/File
Douglass Harrison, president and CEO of WVU Medication Wheeling Hospital and Reynolds Memorial Hospital, discusses throughout an October media occasion the brand new regional most cancers middle that will likely be constructed on the previous OVMC campus.
WHEELING — WVU Medication’s newest funding into town of Wheeling will carry a regional most cancers middle to the world, with hopes of re-energizing a piece of Wheeling harm when Ohio Valley Medical Middle closed its doorways.
WVU Medication introduced in October that it could buy the previous OVMC campus, demolish the remaining empty buildings there and, of their place, construct a four-story state-of-the-art most cancers middle.
“It is a large win for WVU Medication, and I believe it’ll be an enormous win for town of Wheeling and for Ohio County,” Albert Wright Jr., president and CEO of the West Virginia College Well being System, mentioned the morning of the announcement. “We’re going to construct a spectacular constructing and program right here. It’s one which we hope you and your family members won’t ever want, but when and while you do, we’ll be right here.”
The brand new middle ought to take about 5 years to finish, in response to hospital officers. Plans for the ability name for between 75,000 and 90,000 sq. toes of area.
An anticipated workforce of 150 workers will likely be introduced in to deal with an anticipated 40,000 affected person visits yearly.
Officers mentioned the middle seemingly will provide medical oncology, radiation oncology and mammography companies, a melanoma middle, a specialty pharmacy, telemedicine capabilities, multidisciplinary tumor boards and tutorial analysis services.
In response to WVU Medication, West Virginia has the second-highest most cancers mortality charge within the United State, which makes the longer term facility an essential addition to the Northern Panhandle. Bernie Twigg, chairman of the board of administrators at WVU Medication Reynolds Memorial and Wheeling hospitals, mentioned the middle’s location will likely be as essential as its goal.
“It’s going to imply that your households don’t journey to Pittsburgh, you don’t go to Columbus or Cleveland — you keep right here in Wheeling, near your loved ones, and also you’ll get the most effective care you will discover,” Twigg mentioned. “This will likely be exceptional. A couple of years from now, we’ll all stand in awe as we minimize the ribbon.”
Metropolis and Ohio County officers hope that the brand new middle gained’t be only a shot within the arm for healthcare within the area. They’d wish to see it increase the companies that can sit round that facility as effectively. When OVMC was open, employees and sufferers’ households had these companies in Centre Market to eat and store in. The previous hospital’s abrupt closure in 2019 eradicated a lot of that buyer site visitors, and the arrival of a regional most cancers middle might carry these prospects again.
Jenny Showalter, supervisor of Market Cafe, mentioned she was excited to see what results the brand new middle could have in Middle Wheeling. OVMC’s closure was a troublesome loss, and WVU Medication’s arrival within the neighborhood is one thing she issues might flip issues round.
“It’s great information,” she mentioned. “Hopefully, it is going to make the (Centre Market) increase once more. When OVMC left, it died down round right here. … I believe will probably be wonderful.”
Employees Writers Eric Ayres and Shelly Hanson contributed to this report.