File photo/SHELLEY HANSON WITH THE announcement that Alecto Healthcare Service has completed the purchase of Ohio Valley Medical Center and East Ohio Regional Hospital, shown here in Martins Ferry, it is not known if the hospitals’ names will change.

MARTINS FERRY — Alecto Healthcare Services has completed its acquisition of Ohio Valley Medical Center in Wheeling and East Ohio Regional Hospital in Martins Ferry after a four-month process.

Alecto, based in Irvine, Calif., finalized its purchase of the two hospitals from Ohio Valley Health Services and Education Corp. on Wednesday. The purchase price was not revealed.

At the same time, Michael Caruso, president and CEO of OVHS&E, will depart from the hospitals’ administration. According to a statement released Thursday, Caruso has elected not to continue as CEO after the close of the sale.

Alecto officials said a restructuring of the administrative staff will occur with the transaction, but did not indicate when a new administrator would be named.

“I believe this is the right thing to do, to allow Alecto to come in with a new, fresh set of eyes to run our organization,” Caruso said. “Alecto is investing millions of dollars into our organization and the future is very bright for OVMC and EORH. While I have tremendously enjoyed my five years as president and CEO, I also understand that Alecto leadership needs to have the opportunity to come in and manage the organization directly.”

The hospitals, which were nonprofit facilities previously, will be operated as for-profit entities by Alecto. Officials did not indicate if the hospitals’ names would be changed under the new ownership.

Alecto announced its intention to buy OVMC and EORH on Jan. 27, and said its plan “calls for significant reinvestment in equipment and infrastructure at both campuses to enhance the delivery of care in the Ohio Valley.”

OVMC filed a request with the West Virginia Health Care Authority in February for a certificate of need for the sale; however, midway during the process, state law was changed to allow “distressed” hospitals such as OVMC to bypass the certification process. EORH received permission from Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine for its part of the deal to proceed.

Lex Reddy, president and CEO of Alecto Healthcare Services, said, “We are excited to expand our operations to the Ohio Valley. We are a community-focused health care system and we are looking forward to supporting and working with the physicians, employees and the residents on both sides of the river.”

Caruso said, “Alecto is the right choice for continuing the tradition of state-of-the-art quality care that OVMC and EORH have provided to this community for more than a century.”

Alecto has pledged millions of dollars in improvements in the coming months. The firm said it has purchased new cardiac monitors and defibrillators and has plans to upgrade equipment and infrastructure at both hospitals.

On May 16, Wheeling City Council voted 6-0 to enter a memorandum of understanding with Alecto. The agreement calls for the city to pay $1.5 million for upgrades and new elevators at the Center Wheeling parking garage, with an additional $1.5 million earmarked for demolition of the former nurses’ residence building at OVMC.

OVMC, founded in 1890 as City Hospital, is a 200-bed health care facility in Center Wheeling. In affiliation with the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine, OVMC has an osteopathic medicine residency program offering residencies in internal medicine, emergency medicine and traditional internal-emergency medicine fields. The hospital also operates the OVMC School of Radiologic Technology, a two-year hospital-based education program.

EORH, founded in 1906 as Martins Ferry Hospital by Dr. R.H. Wilson, is a 140-bed health care facility in Martins Ferry. EORH works with the East Ohio Medical Office Building and East Ohio Regional Hospital Outpatient Centers in St. Clairsville. EORH operates a federally-funded Respiratory and Occupational Black Lung Clinic and a certified skilled-rehabilitation unit.

This will be the second operation in the region for Alecto, which was founded in California in 2012. Alecto acquired Fairmont Regional Medical Center (formerly Fairmont General Hospital), a 207-bed acute care facility in Marion County, in 2014.

Reddy said, “We have enjoyed our experience in the West Virginia market.”