WEIRTON — By the end of the year, Weirton Medical Center will become a full-fledged member of the West Virginia University Health System, hospital officials announced Wednesday.

WMC became a clinical affiliate of WVU Medicine in January 2020, providing area residents with increased access to specialists and subspecialists, as well as assisting the local hospital in recruiting physicians to serve the medical needs of the community. The letter of intent signed by hospital officials initiates the process of full membership.

“Since beginning our clinical partnership with WVU Medicine in 2020, they continued to be nationally recognized for the delivery of world-class medicine and groundbreaking research,” said John Frankovitch, WMC president and CEO. “This affiliation with the WVU Health System is just the next phase in our continued growth at WMC, providing patients with expanded access to WVU Medicine specialists and advanced medical care right in their community.

“The partnership is not just an affiliation, but a community investment on the part of WMC and WVU Medicine,” he continued. “In addition to the exceptional medical care we provide, WMC has a significant economic impact on the region with over 1,400 employees. Our partnership with WVU Medicine ensures WMC will continue for the next generation, providing the exceptional, compassionate healthcare our patients have come to expect.”

WMC and WVU Medicine officials have targeted Jan. 1, 2025 to complete the affiliation process.

Weirton Medical Center is a 238-bed acute care hospital serving patients in West Virginia, eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania. It operates 50 ancillary locations throughout the tri-state area.

The WVU Health System, meanwhile, is West Virginia’s largest network of hospitals, clinics and specialty institutes with more than 3,000 licensed beds, 4,000 providers and 30,000 employees working through 24 hospitals and clinics.

“The addition of Weirton Medical Center will bolster our efforts to ensure the residents of the northern-most counties in the state have access to world-class healthcare without having to leave home,” said Albert L. Wright Jr., president and CEO of the WVU Health System. “We laid the groundwork in 2020 with our clinical affiliation and remain impressed with both the hospital and the growth opportunities it will present as a full member of our network. We look forward to expanding our collaboration even further.”

The move also follows Weirton Medical’s announcement last fall of a $9 million expansion to its emergency department, which also included the relocation of the hospital’s laboratory and the construction of a new gastroenterology center.

WVU Medicine already has a lab location in Wellsburg, with a series of facilities in the lower in the Northern Panhandle, including WVU Medicine Wheeling and Reynolds Memorial hospitals.