Ohio Valley Medical Center officials still are planning to build a new psychiatric center for adolescents in Wheeling.
OVMC spokeswoman Maggie Espina said the center is expected to be ready by fall 2011.
''The HillCrest expansion is still moving forward, and we look forward to a spring groundbreaking,'' Espina said. ''We are currently working with our architects to finalize the plans for the facility.''
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Photo by Shelley Hanson
Wheeling residents David and Marsha Surgent play with their dogs, Rudy and Ranger, on the lot where Ohio Valley Medical Center plans to construct a psychiatric center for adolescents.
HillCrest opened in 1973 and was built to accommodate adults only. The new facility is expected to have a wing for boys and another for girls.
Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., secured $5.7 million for the project aimed at providing care for children who often must leave the area for treatment. The remainder of the $6 million project will be covered by OVMC's operating fund, Espina noted.
Plans include a 36-bed facility to be erected on an grassy lot adjacent to the hospital, located at 2000 Eoff St., Wheeling.
In his March announcement about the funding, Byrd noted the next closest West Virginia facility for children is four hours away in Huntington.
The new center is expected to provide "short-term" treatment, compared to Fox Run in St. Clairsville that is more residential.