WVU Medicine Breaks Ground for St. Clairsville Hospital
WVU Medicine/Wheeling Hospital Press Release
WHEELING – WVU Medicine leaders joined Belmont County officials and community partners last Wednesday to break ground on the future WVU Medicine St. Clairsville Community Hospital, marking the beginning of a $56 million investment that will significantly expand access to healthcare for residents of Belmont County and the surrounding region.
The new hospital, to be located at 67670 South Ebbert Road in St. Clairsville, will be a two-story, approximately 55,000-square-foot facility designed to bring a broad range of hospital and outpatient services together on one convenient campus.
Plans for the facility include inpatient beds, a full-service Emergency Department, outpatient imaging and laboratory services, primary care, and specialty clinics, along with the opportunity to introduce additional services based on the evolving healthcare needs of the community.
“This is about meeting people where they are and making sure the communities we serve have access to exceptional healthcare close to home,” Douglass Harrison, regional president of WVU Medicine and president and CEO of Wheeling Hospital, said. “WVU Medicine has made a tremendous commitment to the Ohio Valley, and this hospital represents the next major step in that commitment. We are not simply constructing a building. We are investing in Belmont County, expanding access to physicians and services, and building healthcare infrastructure that will serve this community for generations.”
The project further strengthens WVU Medicine’s growing presence throughout eastern Ohio and builds upon the longstanding relationship between Wheeling Hospital and the communities on both sides of the Ohio River.
“We always say that the river and the state line should not define healthcare,” Harrison said during Wednesday’s groundbreaking. “And so, it was important for us to break down that geographic barrier and stigma of separation that state line brings and invest in the needs of the people of Belmont County.”
The location provides convenient access to Interstate 70 and Interstate 470 and positions the hospital to serve patients throughout Belmont County and the broader Ohio Valley.
The St. Clairsville Community Hospital is also part of one of the largest periods of capital investment in WVU Medicine history. In April, the West Virginia University Health System Board of Directors approved more than $350 million in new capital improvement projects across the System for 2026, including the $56 million St. Clairsville project. Combined with investments approved during the previous two years, WVU Medicine has committed more than $1.2 billion to healthcare infrastructure across West Virginia and the surrounding region.
That broader investment reflects a systemwide strategy to improve access to care while strengthening the communities WVU Medicine serves through new facilities, expanded clinical services, job creation and economic development. Lead by Albert Wright, president and CEO of West Virginia University Health System, the strategic investment plan continues to follow a mission of service and purpose.
“Growth for the sake of growth has never been our goal,” Wright said when the 2026 investments were announced. “Our growth and expansion are always mission-based and intentional and always intended to provide better service and access to those we serve.”
Wednesday’s ceremony included remarks from Harrison; Wright; J.P. Dutton, Belmont County commissioner; and Josh Jefferson, president of the Board of Directors for Wheeling Hospital and Reynolds Memorial Hospital.
Construction of the WVU Medicine St. Clairsville Community Hospital is expected to continue through 2027, with the hospital anticipated to open near the end of the year.
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Wheeling Hospital, founded in 1850, has served patients longer than any other hospital in West Virginia. Today, it is a 255-bed acute care facility with a medical staff of over 225 primary care and specialty physicians. It provides a wide array of primary and tertiary care services. In addition to the hospital, the complex includes the Continuous Care Center and the Howard Long Wellness Center. Connected to the hospital are four medical office buildings. In addition, Tower 5 features a state-of-the-art Emergency/Trauma Center, Center for Pediatrics, intensive care units, physician offices, and private patient rooms.
(WVU Medicine/Wheeling Hospital Press release)
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