BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. — Mon Health is moving forward with plans for their second small-format medical facility in the Harrison County planned-use community of Charles Pointe.
Mon Health President and CEO David Goldberg said the first small-format facility, the Mon Health Marion Neighborhood Hospital, will be the blueprint.
“We plan to build it comparable to the facility in Marion County,” Goldberg said Wednesday on WAJR’s “Talk of the Town.” “But, we’ll also build it that if we want to grow more beds, grow more ancillary services or out-patient, the goal is to do it.”
The facilities will be similar but Charles Pointe will be designed with expansion as a priority. The legislature recently passed Senate Bill 613 that changed the Certificate of Need process, making it easier to build or add on to an existing facility.
“That gives us the ability to say that as the community grows and businesses grow, we may want to add more beds or we may want to add more surgical or other programs,” Goldberg said. “So, we’re looking at all of that to make sure the planning meets what the community will need over time.”
Despite the name “small-format,” patients can expect most services available at a traditional hospital. In many cases, telemedicine will be used, and if a service is not available, the patient will be transferred to the appropriate facility. The facility will have an emergency department and eight inpatient beds with access to important cardiac care technology.
“We have a “War Room” in Mon Health Medical Center that does all the telemetry monitoring for all of our hospitals in north central West Virginia, and we will add that capability to the Harrison County facility.”
Passage of Senate Bill 613 in the most recent legislative session repeals many parts of the Certificate of Need regulatory process. Goldberg said this will allow them to evaluate services and space and make additions or adjustments much faster to meet market needs.
“To expand not only out-patient imaging, we’ll improve the ability for out-patient labs and medical services on that campus,” Goldberg said. “And as the community grows, we’ll also grow the footprint of that facility.”
Other locations were examined before the decision was made to locate near the future Menards store in Charles Pointe. The 1,700-acre retail, commercial, residential, and recreational development is valued at $1.4 billion.
“The great thing is most of the things we want to do in Charles Pointe are already permitted and allowable, so we just finish the construction documents and send them out for bid,” Goldberg said. “Our goal, we hope, is to break ground this year so we can be open in 2024.”