East Ohio Regional Hospital Reopens Its Doors This Morning in Martins Ferry
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MARTINS FERRY -- The long wait is finally over.
East Ohio Regional Hospital is set to reopen at 11 a.m. today under new ownership, along with a renewed pride and excitement likely felt by the community and the facility's employees.
Spokesman Mike Garrison said Wednesday employees at the facility had been working day and night to get the facility ready to open its doors and start treating patients again.
"This community, as well as the broader Ohio Valley, deserves to have a solid community-focused hospital. I am very grateful to have the opportunity to reopen EORH and look forward to serving the area for years to come," said Dr. John Johnson, EORH's owner.
Johnson purchased the facility last spring after its former owner, Alecto Healthcare Services of California, closed it and its sister facility, Ohio Valley Medical Center in Wheeling, in 2019.
The community was devastated and concerned about the future of health care in the region with two major hospitals being shut down.
Johnson, a Dayton-based psychiatrist and entrepreneur, stepped up to the plate and purchased the Martins Ferry facility with the goal of running it as a hospital again.
Bernie Albertini, EORH chief operating officer, said more than 400 employees have been hired and millions of dollars invested to get the facility open again.
"We have been working hard every day since we announced that the hospital would reopen. We are so proud of our EORH team and what this represents for the area," Albertini said.
The hospital just recently received its final regulatory approvals from the Ohio Department of Health and The Joint Commission. Rather than delay the reopening any longer for a formal affair, however, officials decided to start getting to work today.
A dedication and blessing ceremony already was held last month. Still, to commemorate the moment the hospital plans to announce its "signing on" with the Belmont County 911 emergency center and emergency management officials. When the facility closed in 2019, hundreds of people gathered outside of the hospital's emergency room for what many assumed would be the final "sign off" to emergency officials.
The reopening of the hospital comes amidst a global COVID-19 pandemic that has killed more than 430,000 people in the United States. And locally, Interstate 70 work has forced driving detours in Wheeling where the region's other major hospital, Wheeling Hospital, is located.
"We are opening as quickly as possible to provide a safe and immediate destination for local EMS to deliver patients in a timely manner. The route to EORH remains open and without delay and we stand ready to assist our first responders when minutes can matter to patients in need." Albertini said.
An official ribbon cutting and community appreciation event is planned for later this year with COVID restrictions in mind, he noted.
"Our main focus right now is getting our doors open and doing it the right way. ... Right now, we remain laser-focused on getting back to doing what we do best -- serving our local community," Albertini said.