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Neighborhood Businesses Looking Forward to Opening of WVU Medicine Cancer Center

By SHELLEY HANSON 5 min read

WHEELING - When Ohio Valley Medical Center was shuttered in 2019 by Alecto Healthcare, the impact was felt across the Ohio Valley, including by the Center Wheeling businesses that relied on foot traffic from the facility.

Now with the recent news of WVU Medicine's plan to build a new regional cancer center in the OVMC footprint, the future is looking brighter for many business owners.

Libby Strong, owner of the Smart Centre Market, said having a new cancer center will positively impact all the surrounding businesses.

"When the hospital closed we didn't realize how many customers we got from it. When it closed all of us took a hit. We definitely did," she said.

Strong said when OVMC was open, there would be workers who would stop in on their lunch break or after work to pick up a gift item. Before it was closed, about 740 people were employed at OVMC.

People whose family members were receiving care inside the facility would sometimes stop in just to take a break and relax.

"It was very convenient for them," she noted.

WVU Medicine officials said that it could take up to five years for the center to be completed and open. Strong is hoping it opens sooner rather than later, noting that is her only concern with the planned project.

Ashley O'Neal, co-owner of Ash & Tin Boutique, said she was happy to hear the news of the planned facility.

"I think it's great. Not having OVMC was sad for the Centre Market," she said. "It will help the businesses and the restaurants. I think it will be great for downtown Wheeling."

O'Neal, who was a nurse before running her boutique, said she worked at OVMC and did her clinical rotation there while studying for her nursing degree at West Liberty University.

"It will be neat to see some life back there," she said.

Don Verhovec, customer service manager at Famous Supply, believes the facility will be "great for the valley and great for the city."

"I think it will be something that will help people from around here," he said.

Verhovec said while his business is wholesale one, he believes the project will create a lot of jobs that will help all the businesses in the Center Wheeling area.

"Even the building jobs with all the trades," he said.

Jenny Showalter, manager of the Market Cafe, said she was excited to learn a new medical facility was going to be built at the former OVMC site. She said the region needs another healthcare center.

"It's wonderful news. Hopefully, it will make the (Centre Market) boom again," she said of its impact. "When OVMC left it died down around here. ... I think it will be amazing."

Brooke Price, manager of the Centre Market, said after she attended the press conference for the announcement regarding the facility, she spread the news to market businesses who were excited about it, too.

"It's going to have a huge impact down here. Even with demolition beginning, all the workers will be on site. It will be a big help to everyone and the businesses," she said.

Price said when she took the market manager position in March she went around and talked to the businesses and most of them talked about the negative impact OVMC's closure had on them.

Though it might take up to five years to complete, Price said new foot traffic may be made from the construction workers and vendors working on the building.

"Hopefully they like fish sandwiches," she said, referring to the popular dish sold at Coleman's Fish Market.

While doing some freelance painting work at a church in Center Wheeling, Wheeling resident Rick Foose, a cancer survivor, said he believes the cancer center will help many patients receive care locally.

"I think it's a good idea. I don't think they need to tear it all down. But if they have the money to do it, so be it," he said.

Courtney King, owner of the Bite Me bakery, said she is concerned about the amount of extra traffic congestion the construction project might cause, but noted it is for a good cause.

"I think it's good for the area. There will be more jobs and people in Wheeling. ... There will be some growing pains in the beginning," King said.

WVU Medicine's planned regional cancer center will have between 75,000 and 90,000 square feet of space and employ about 150 people. It is anticipated the facility will see about 40,000 patient visits per year.

According to WVU Medicine, West Virginia has the second highest cancer mortality rate in the United States. The WVU Cancer Institute diagnoses about 1,200 cases of cancer each year in the Wheeling region. The most common types of cancer diagnosed in West Virginia include female breast cancer, prostate cancer, lung and bronchus cancer, and colon and rectum cancer.

The city of Wheeling and Ohio County are expected to cover most of the cost of demolishing the old OVMC buildings to make way for the new facility.

The city of Wheeling is donating the parcels of land to WVU Medicine.

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