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WVU Medicine To Invest $20 Million in Reynolds Memorial Hospital Upgrades

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GLEN DALE – WVU Medicine Reynolds Memorial Hospital will see new operating rooms, new procedural rooms and more beds in pre- and post-operating recovering areas among other upgrades, thanks to a $20 million capital project announced Thursday at the hospital.

The project will begin in a few months with a target completion date of the second quarter of 2024. WVU Medicine Reynolds Memorial Hospital and Wheeling Hospital CEO Douglass Harrison said the project is not just an investment in the hospital, but also the surrounding community.

“This hospital is truly transformational in the level of care that we are providing,” Harrison said. “This project will allow us, from a regional perspective, with five new state-of-the-art operating rooms, to really look at how we utilize operating rooms across the region.”

Mike Ortiz, vice president of support services, described what patients would see with the upcoming project. It would bring the hospital, built in 1960, up to current building standards. Pre- and post-operating recovery areas would grow from 14 to 20 beds. Five new operating rooms will be built with critical power and a full complement of medical gases, among other features. Two new procedural rooms will be built.

There will be a new patient drop-off area going directly into the surgical waiting area. The majority of the hospital’s patient registration will move there so, once registered, patients can go directly into the pre-op area. There will be two additional registration stations in the main lobby for outpatient lab and radiology procedures.

“Given the age of our facility, it is time for an upgrade,” Ortiz said. “This is going to help us eliminate some of the day-to-day issues that we face and enable us, without question, to come in and not have to worry about environmental concerns. We want to ensure that we create the best patient experience that we possibly can.”

Glen Dale Mayor Janet Scott – who is also an employee at the hospital – said she was extremely pleased with the news and excited about the expansion of services.

“I’m all for WVU expanding and offering these services to the community,” Scott said. “We need these services to better serve the community. There’s a lot more that I feel we’ll be able to offer through the expansion.”

Marshall County Commission President John Gruzinskas said the investment showed WVU’s further commitment to the area.

“This is a huge project for them, and just shows the commitment to the investment WVU’s got,” he said, “In the last few years, hospital staff has increased from around 300 people to about 700. Every time you drive by the place and look at the parking lot, it’s full.

“It shows the quality of care that’s increased greatly with WVU coming in. … It’s a big project, and it’s something that’s going to draw people in.”

The hospital will receive millions of dollars of help to make the project go, said Bernie Twigg, chairman of the Reynolds Memorial Hospital board of directors. The Spurr Trust at the hospital will contribute $7.5 million toward the project.

“Bishop William Klusmeyer, who heads the trust fund, has been an instrumental part of this announcement today,” Twigg said. “Bishop Klusmeyer is a champion for growth and progress at Reynolds. We cannot say enough how appreciative we are of his support.”

The Foundation at Reynolds Memorial will contribute another $2 million.

Harrison assures the community that the construction process would not change the patient experience. The current operating rooms will stay in use while the new operating rooms are built in the hospital’s south end, which currently houses administrative and business offices.

“I focus on three things as a CEO, first and foremost quality,” said Harrison. “Everything we do at this hospital is going to be centered around quality. The second is community and what are we doing to give back to the community, to invest in our community, and look at job growth and economic impact. And the third is our financial and fiscal responsibility. I’m very proud to say that Reynolds is doing extremely well financially which allows us to reinvest into projects like this.”

Staff writer Alan Olson contributed to this report.

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