Morgantown, W.Va. – Mon Health System held a ribbon-cutting Friday for its new Mon Health Marion Neighborhood Hospital in Marion County.
In addition to local and state dignitaries and community providers, U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin III, D-W.Va. and U.S. Health and Human Resources Secretary Xavier Becerra were on hand to applaud Mon Health’s commitment to improving community access to care that bucks the nationwide trend of rural hospitals closing.
“From the very beginning, the people of White Hall and greater Marion County community welcomed us with wide-open arms, and we cannot express strongly enough how grateful we are for the overwhelming support,” said Mon Health System President & CEO David Goldberg. “There is a clear desire in this region for more high-quality, patient-centered health care options, and we are confident that when our hospital opens, it will exceed your expectations in every way.”
Goldberg noted that Mon Health has served families in North Central West Virginia for 100 years and has earned the reputation for treating patients like family with speed, compassion, and expertise.
“As the most important community hospital system in the region, Mon Health believes this is the kind of innovation that will advance healthcare services for the future,” Goldberg said. “We are proud to uphold the tradition of community hospitals by expanding hospital services in Marion County, delivering high-quality care to citizens when and where they need it.”
Sen. Joe Manchin III said that delivery of healthcare services in rural areas around the country has been diminishing and he thanked Mon Health for its investment in the community. He also congratulated everyone involved in the creation of the hospital while noting his part in earmarking $8 billion of federal funding for rural areas of the country such as West Virginia to invest in healthcare.
U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Becerra echoed Manchin’s remarks and spoke about the triumph of opening a small-format hospital in a rural community in the current year and the benefit this has on the community.
“There are 10 beds here that you know you can use,” Becerra said. “When your child gets sick, you know you can come here and not have to travel miles to get to a place like here.”
The Mon Health Marion Neighborhood Hospital is what’s known as a small-format hospital, meaning that it offers a smaller number of beds than a traditional hospital, but still brings high-level services such as a 24-hour emergency care unit, overnight hospitalization services, on-site diagnostic testing and imaging, and laboratory services and 10 inpatient beds. Located at the Middletown Commons in White Hall, Mon Health Marion Neighborhood Hospital will officially open its doors to the community on December 14.
To learn more about Mon Health Marion Neighborhood Hospital, visit MonHealthMarion.com.
