GLEN DALE — A rendition of “Country Roads Take Me Home” by the WVU Marching Band carried across WVU Medicine Reynolds Memorial Hospital’s campus as WVU Medicine leadership and staff celebrated the completion of the hospital’s $23 million operating room suite renovation.

The two-and-a-half-year-long project included the full renovation of five operating rooms and two procedural suites to bring facilities up to date with modern surgical technologies.

The completion of the renovation was commemorated with a ribbon-cutting in front of the hospital on Friday morning. The Pride of West Virginia kicked off the festivities with music before spectators gathered in front of the hospital to hear details about the project from WVU Medicine leadership.

WVU Medicine Reynolds Memorial and Wetzel County hospitals President and CEO Tony Martinelli said behind the operating room entrance in front of which he stood were five “state of the art” newly remodeled operating rooms in addition to two procedural rooms and fully-updated pre- and post-op facilities.

“The total number of rooms remains the same, but if you take a look through them, they look nothing like they did at the beginning of this project,” Martinelli said. “They are beautiful spaces, totally up to date and with all the modern technologies you want if a loved one is having surgery.”

Modern technologies included in the new facility are the Da Vinci surgical robot and two Rosa Robotic-Assisted Orthopedic surgical robots. Martinelli said these pieces of technology would further aid the hospital’s “heavy focus on orthopedics.”

“I remember a couple of years ago we thought, ‘Do we have enough volume for one orthopedic robot?’ so to add a second and just see that continued growth is fantastic,” Martinelli said. “It’s also fantastic to offer the Da Vinci surgical procedures right here in our community, and it’s going to be the same as what you would get in any big city facility.”

In addition to improved technologies, Martinelli noted the improved staff and patient spaces with the updates. New staff break rooms and call rooms were included in the renovations, and the “latest in monitoring technology” in pre- and post-op areas.

“We have the ability to have more pre-op in the morning and more PACU in the afternoon as surgeries come to a close, so you don’t have wasted space,” Martinelli added.

Even before patients enter the facility, Maritnelli said improvements to the traffic flow for the operating room entrance and exits were made. Patients can now be dropped off in front of the hospital before surgery and leave in a private pickup area under a canopy after surgery.

“There is a new modern look and feel here that conveys to patients they’re getting world-class care here,” Martinelli said. “Patients can now also enjoy the convenience of not having to go through the main lobby to get picked up after surgery. They can just head home through a private exit.”

Martinelli noted that for a project of this magnitude to come to fruition, many individuals and groups contributed to its funding. Major donors included the Spur Trust with $7.5 million and the Reynolds Memorial Hospital Foundation with an additional $3 million.

WVU Medicine Reynolds Memorial and Wheeling Hospital Board of Directors President and Chair Joshua Jefferson noted the “significant impact” of such an investment on the hospital and the greater community. He added that through investments in the hospital’s facilities, Reynolds has grown from about 300 to more than 700 employees.

“These investments are not just brick and mortar, but they are investments in people and the quality of healthcare and professionals,” Jefferson said. “Reynolds is a great model of WVU Medicine’s focus on health care to improve the lives of patients and families all across West Virginia. When you see the investment being made, not only in Marshall County but in Ohio County, you can see that WVU Medicine has taken the lead in improving health in the state.”

WVU Health System Northern Region President Douglass Harrison noted the importance of local healthcare at the ribbon-cutting. He outlined that in nationwide health systems, there can be a lack of care for patients and families compared to local healthcare.

“We want to keep healthcare local,” Harrison said. “These staff here care for your loved ones, and you don’t find that in big, nationwide systems. I truly believe that this hospital is a prime example of what others want to be when delivering local health care.”

WVU Health System President and CEO Albert Wright expanded on Harrison’s remarks about the importance of local healthcare, noting that out-of-state entities may not make decisions in the best interests of West Virginians.

“We want to create an integrated health care system that will make investments in West Virginia health care that are in the best interest of improving the health care of our population,” Wright said. “I’m as proud of Reynolds as any hospital to join the WVU Health System. I can argue that this hospital is one of the best examples of WVU Medicine’s investments in the community.

That investment is shown in the seven-room state-of-the-art surgical and procedural suite.”