BRIDGEPORT, West Virginia – Mon Health/Vandalia Health Care’s last small-format hospital in Harrison County could be operational through 2026, according to Vandalia Executive Vice President David Goldberg.
The facility will be on the Charles Pointe network in Bridgeport, not far from Interstate 79.
Final state approvals were received, March-Weston was decided to be the prime contractor, and final plans are underway, with the structure expected to begin in the fall. The facility is expected to charge around $30 million.
“If all goes well and all issues between the bondholder and Genesis Partners are resolved, we will break ground this fall,” Goldberg said. “We will be built until 2025 and operational until 2026. “
Harrison County Commissioner Patsy Trecost said the addition of the hospital is an activity in a new economic sector that will generate strong jobs. Improving quality of life with a second primary hospital in the county is also a priority of the network’s growth, Trecost said.
“It sure is dynamite, because like the Menards, this hospital will attract a new component of our county,” Trecost said.
This facility will be similar to the Mon Health Marion Community Hospital located in White Hall. The facility will have an emergency department, inpatient beds and will offer a variety of specialty and outpatient procedures and procedures. The facility will be added to the hub and spoke system, where patients can be evaluated at the community hospital via telemedicine and will have the option to be treated at a higher level hospital in Morgantown if necessary.
“We have to start from scratch; we’re building new construction and operating the infrastructure that the city, county and Genesis Partners have invested in this site, so it’s a little more expensive,” Goldberg said.
Goldberg said they will work full time in the field and will continue to work in the region’s schools to provide learning opportunities and professional roles after graduation.
“Among the contracted physicians, nurses and others who provide services at the facility, there were 50 to 100 more people when we first opened, which is very comparable to Mon Health Marion Neighborhood Hospital,” Goldberg said.
Charles Pointe’s progression includes housing, retail, light industrial, and healthcare, with long-term expansion opportunities. Trecost estimates that the expansion along the I-79 corridor will require three lanes in each direction in the near term.
“We need to recruit other people from other states to come to West Virginia where they can put down roots,” Trecost said. “We not only need to make sure that those who are here now can get an education and stay; We need to invite other people; We don’t need our population to continue to decline.