CLARKSBURG, W.Va. — The new Highland-Clarksburg Hospital opens to patients in Harrison County on Monday.
Chief Operating Officer Eric Kennedy said more than $34 million of renovation work at the former United Hospital Center site, which will now be a behavioral health treatment facility, started in January.
Monday’s opening represents the completion of Phase One for a site that will offer inpatient treatment for patients suffering from mental health issues and substance abuse.
To start, Highland-Clarksburg Hospital will have space for 35 kids between the ages of five and 17 in the Child and Adolescent Units.
“The nuts and bolts of the facility were excellent,” said Kennedy. “What we needed to do was come in and create the psych safe environment for the patients that we will be treating.”
There are rounded edges in all patient rooms, bathroom fixtures designed to prevent injury, furniture that is secured to the floor and ceilings that cannot be accessed through removable tiles.
So far, more than 60 people have been hired at Highland-Clarksburg Hospital.
Kennedy said hiring efforts continue for the more than 260 workers who will be needed when Phase Two of the renovation work is finished. He said the goal is open 115 beds to adults by January.
“Psychiatric, inpatient is a service that continues to grow for both the mental health issues and the substance abuse issues that people struggle with on a daily basis in their local communities,” said Kennedy.
The reach of the facility will go beyond West Virginia’s borders. “The fact that this facility is in this area, it can service southwestern Pennsylvania, eastern Maryland, western Ohio. We’re happy to be able to be able to put the services in place,” he said.
Funding for the new Highland-Clarksburg Hospital includes loan money from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Highland Hospital is based in Kanawha County. The company acquired the former UHC when the hospital relocated to a new facility off the Jerry Dove Drive exit of Interstate 79.
An open house will be held at Highland-Clarksburg Hospital from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. Friday.