WHEELING — The Tiu family of medical practitioners is taking a leap of faith in their community and future with construction of a freestanding medical office in the same neighborhood in which they were raised.

The new medical building will be located at 176 Anthoni Ave. in the Woodsdale neighborhood of Wheeling. It will be located adjacent to the new Augusta Levy Learning Center, also under construction. The two facilities will share 111 parking spaces.

Drs. Jeremy and Christopher Tiu are otolaryngology specialists currently practicing in space they rent at Wheeling Hospital. They are the sons of retired Dr. Wilfredo A. Tiu, who built and maintained the practice for 51 years. They have a long-standing relationship with Wheeling Hospital.

Jeremy said the decision to build a facility is to better accommodate their patients, to expand their space and upgrade their technology. The structure will be a modern, ergonomically designed facility.

“We will have a one-story, 8,000-square foot building on the same site as the Augusta Levy Learning Center which will be a two-story structure,” Jeremy said. ” Our patients will be able to walk to the door — which is wonderful, especially for patient with allergies.”

The Tiu brothers expect the facility to be completed in June 2020. Jeremy noted that growing up in the Woodsdale area makes the site even more special. He said from the hilltop location they can see their church, their children’s school and the places they have known since their were boys.

Christopher noted that the expanded space will be a plus, since they have added physician assistant Hilary Miller and nurse practitioner Lacy Howard to the staff. He also likes the idea of leaving a legacy that his father built for additional generations in the family. Christopher’s daughter Madelyn is studying to be a physician’s assistant in her father’s field of medicine and a nephew, Ben, is a pre-med student.

“With 10 exams rooms and added staff we can take care of patients quicker. And with the OV (Ohio Valley Hospital) closing, we are fortunate to expand and have physician extenders.” Also with the closing of OVMC, Wheeling Hospital is in need of added space to accommodate more patients and physicians.

The Tius’ practice recently added three former OVMC employees to their staff. Both Tius also teach classes for West Liberty University’s physician’s assistant program.

Christopher said WLU “has done a good job with that program.”

As otolaryngology specialists, the Tius treat all ages for head and neck surgery, procedures such as tonsillectomy, adenoidectomy, ear tubes, nasal surgery, sinus surgery, laryngeal surgery, parotidectomy, thyroidectomy, neck mass and lymph node surgery, oral and skin lesion biopsy and removal.

They said the new location will definitely be a boon for their elderly patients who have to be brought by wheelchair through the long hallways at their hospital office in Tower 3.

The new facility also will include the practice of audiologist Dr. Brandon Lichtman and Dr. Shayna Pettini who currently share the Tius’ suite at Wheeling Hospital.

Lichtman and Pettini will have a continued affiliation with Wheeling Hospital. They are looking forward to the new office because it will offer increased accessibility for the audiology patients.