T-L Photo/JOSIE BURKHART A construction team works on the new Trinity Health System hospital at 48530 National Road in St. Clairsville.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — Trinity Health System’s new hospital construction in St. Clairsville is underway, and the hospital is expected to be occupied with employees and patients by the summer of 2025.

The hospital’s construction is progressing smoothly, according to Dwayne Richardson, president of the St. Clairsville Trinity Health System hospital.

“We’re excited. And again, just can’t wait to open up right now,” he said. “You know, one of the things that’s happening is that even though we’re just still in the building phases, I still have people asking me when we’re starting because they want to work there. And so that’s exciting news.”

Since the project was announced last summer, site preparation was done and concrete footings have been added. There is now a concrete slab and steel framing has been erected. The construction of the hospital looks like it has been framed out and is in place except for one beam, Richardson said.

Last Friday, the hospital had a beam signing, and all employees joined along with community representatives. That beam will be installed this Thursday.

Richardson has been satisfied with the progress of the work, but rain has been an obstacle, he said. When it rains, the construction team is not able to cure the concrete until the rain dries, and the process takes about two weeks. There were periods of heavy, prolonged rain in March and April that led to flooding and other issues around the region. Other than the rain delays, though, the process has been moving smoothly, he said.

The team will be moving quickly through the construction process now that the steel beams are up and in place, Richardson said.

Richardson joins two meetings a week to monitor how project management is going. His goal is to keep this project on track.

This summer, area residents can expect to see a steel beam structure turn into the semblance of a hospital.

“That’s the cool part. You know, everybody for the last several months has seen bulldozers, and they cleared everything out,” Richardson said. “They knew something was happening, but then it’s not real until you see something there.”

The 20,000-square-foot acute care service hospital will be a two-story building with 10 emergency rooms, two of which will be trauma rooms along with three fast track rooms on the second floor, six inpatient rooms including one intensive care room and two operating rooms. The hospital will also have other departments found in hospitals from laboratory services to high-end imaging services.

The hospital will have a room geared toward bariatric patients and another room dedicated to behavioral health patients within an emergency room. Richardson said these are services the community doesn’t have access to right now.

As soon as the hospital obtains its certificate of occupancy, it can start seeing patients. That is expected to occur in the summer 2025.

Richardson plans to have tight networking with local emergency medical service squads. He also just met with the St. Clairsville Police Chief Matt Arbenz and Belmont County Emergency Management Deputy Director Glenn Trudo and plans to keep in close contact with them. That way they can be alerted when the hospital is about to open because high traffic is expected early in the hospital’s operations.

“I imagine we’re going to be full as soon as we open,” Richardson said.

Richardson noted that one of the things Trinity Health System is proud of is bringing Catholic health care to St. Clairsville as its first hospital. Not only is it bringing health care to the city, he said, but it is bringing an entire ministry to the community from a Christian background.