ST. CLAIRSVILLE — Nearly two years to the date from breaking ground, Trinity Health System’s Neighborhood Hospital hosted its grand opening Friday morning.

The new facility sits along U.S. 40 just east of Plaza West and is a two-story building that offers 10 emergency room beds, six inpatient beds, and radiology and laboratory suites.

Dwayne Richardson, president and CEO of Twin City Medical Center, said that although Friday was its grand opening, the hospital was not quite ready for patients.

“We’re not giving out an opening date just yet, because we need to make sure that we are rightsizing all of our operations,” he said. “We’re making sure that every single patient is safe. And we’re also working with the local agencies that are around us, from having active shooter drills, having the fire department, we’ve had them here at least six times already. We have more events, we have more helicopter scenarios to conduct. Again, trying to open up a new hospital from scratch is one of the hardest things that you can do.

“Secondly, it’s not about the size,” Richardson continued. “We’re still starting a brand new facility, so we need to make sure everything is right. The worst thing we could do is open up and we’re not ready. We tried to open this hospital in 18 months, and so basically we are at about it being two years to date. I’m excited about this day, however, I’ll be more excited once we’re open and serving the community.”

He added that the new facility has an inpatient unit for patients that need to stay overnight.

“We’ll have our hospitalists managing their care. We’ll also have any of the other specialty care, so if they need cardiology services, cardiologists can come over to see them, physical therapy, and all of those services are definitely an opportunity at this new facility,” Richardson said.

He added that, although it is not part of the new hospital, Trinity also owns the former NAPA Auto Parts building next to the hospital and plans to eventually repurpose that space.

“We’re unsure what we’re going to do with that building just yet, we don’t know if we’re going to repurpose it or if we’re going to demolish it,” he said. “But either way, we definitely need some additional options, because parking is going to struggle a little bit. When we embarked on this journey, we embarked on having 40 to 50 ER visits per day but since the closure of one of the recent hospitals. We have no idea what the volume is going to be, and so we could definitely use some more parking.”

Trinity coming to Belmont County comes at a much needed time due to the recent closure of East Ohio Regional Hospital in Martins Ferry.

Belmont County Commissioner Jerry Echemann said residents constantly tell him the Ohio Valley needs more variety in hospitals.

“We need more hospitals. I think we all know that we need more competition in medical services,” he said. “I get that from folks all the time. We need more variety and more choices. We need more competition and I think that’s part of what this represents.”

St. Clairsville Mayor Kathryn Thalman then expressed her happiness for the new hospital in her city.

“This building beside me is not just brick and mortar, it’s a beacon and a symbol of what happens when purpose meets partnership,” she said. “Today, it stands as a testament to what we can build when we come together with a shared vision for something greater than ourselves. Trinity Health System, which is part of the Common Spirit Family, brings with it more than cutting edge care. It brings a mission rooted in compassion and guided by something sacred, as stated in your mission, your commitment to, I quote, ‘a vision of a healthier future for all, inspired by faith, driven by excellence and powered by humanity,’ strikes all the right chords in a community like ours.”