photo by: Emma Delk

WVU Medicine Wheeling Hospital’s 175th anniversary time capsule is placed in the ground in front of the entrance of the hospital on Monday.

WHEELING — WVU Medicine Wheeling Hospital staff and leadership gathered outside the hospital on Monday to see the hospital’s 175th anniversary time capsule lowered into the ground to be unearthed at the hospital’s bicentennial.

The time capsule was created to mark the hospital’s milestone and filled with items that captured the hospital’s history, from an article announcing Wheeling Hospital’s membership in WVU Medicine to the sweater of a longtime staff member.

Items in the capsule included the May 12, 2025, edition of The Intelligencer; a bowtie from West Virginia University President E. Gordon Gee; a zuchetto of the Most Rev. Mark E. Brennan, bishop of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston; a Profession Cross from the Congregation of St. Joseph whose sisters were the first staff of Wheeling Hospital; a list of the St. Joseph sisters who have worked, volunteered and served on the board of Wheeling Hospital; the inaugural edition of “Harrison’s Huddle” from July 2019; and the edition of “The Wright Stuff” from April 6, 2021, announcing Wheeling Hospital joining WVU Medicine.

Other items honored staff members and milestones for the hospital, including the iconic sweater of Dr. E. Philips Polack, who served on the medical staff from 1979 to 2025, adorned with gifts from his patients; a commemorative candy dish from 1985, celebrating 10 years of Wheeling Hospital at Medical Park; an original package of facemasks from the beginning of COVID-19; the Daisy Award Certificate of Meredith Stefan, RN, the first nurse of Wheeling Hospital to receive this international recognition; and T-shirt and St. Joseph prayer card commemorating WVU Medicine Wheeling Hospital’s 175th anniversary.

The capsule will be unearthed and its contents displayed after 25 years. New content will then be added to the capsule and recommissioned for another 25 years.

Brennan, WVU Medicine Wheeling Hospital Vice President for Mission Integration Deacon Paul Lim, Wheeling Hospital President and CEO Douglass Harrison and WVU Health System President and CEO Albert Wright helped lower the capsule into the ground outside the hospital’s front entrance.

Lim noted the capsule not only marks the hospital’s 175th anniversary but also ties into National Hospital Week, held May 11 through 17. He said hospital leadership found it important to commission a capsule that captured various aspects of the hospital’s history for the milestone and to kick off celebrations for Hospital Week.

“We included Gordon Gee’s bowtie because he was very instrumental in the hospital’s acquisition of WVU Medicine,” Lim said. “One of Bishop Brennan’s zucchettos went in there because he was a strength in our acquisition. We also wanted to add in some other fun things that the staff wanted.”

Brennan remarked during the ceremony he was struck by the “courage, determination and commitment” of Bishop Richard Whelan and the doctors who first founded the hospital when Wheeling was “in some ways a frontier town.”

“The founding of this hospital is just a marvel to me, and that it continues to get better and better today,” Brennan said. “I’m just very happy to be part of this remembrance of the past, but also the commitment to going forward with the new regional cancer center and pediatric center.”

Harrison had also reflected on the hospital’s history during the time capsule ceremony. He noted that Wheeling Hospital was the only hospital between Pittsburgh and Cincinnati when it opened.

“This is actually the fourth Catholic hospital that I have worked in, and I will say honestly, this is the best Catholic hospital when you walk through these doors,” Harrison said. “This is a place of hope, ministry and healing. We are so proud of our faith-based mission and preserving our Catholic heritage, which was critical for us to do when we joined WVU Medicine.”

Wright recalled recent history of the hospital during the ceremony, including its entrance into the WVU Health System. He added that items in the capsule call back to the hospital’s “darker days” during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I looked at the items from 2021, and I was even wearing a mask in the edition of ‘The Wright Stuff’ in the capsule to encourage folks to wear a mask,” Wright said. “At that time, Wheeling Hospital was experiencing some of its darker days and having quality and financial issues. When WVU Health System was asked to come in and try to help right the ship, we went into a management agreement that Doug was thankfully willing to do because it was a redirection of his duties.”

Wright joked it was at first an “arranged marriage” between WVU Health System and the diocese, and that Brennan had made an effort to educate leadership on the Catholic identity of the hospital.

“Bishop Brennan was adamant that we would maintain the Catholic identity of this hospital, understand the healing ministry of Jesus Christ and the long-term history of the Catholic Church in providing great care,” Wright said. “I stand here today, five years later, and I believe that this partnership has been great and that Bishop Brennan has served as a great mentor to me. When you look at what was happening at this hospital five years ago compared to today, investments are being made, we are on firm financial footing and we are growing as an organization.”