Belmont County residents heard some good news last week — Trinity Health System plans to construct a new “neighborhood hospital” in St. Clairsville.

The decision was announced Thursday by Trinity President and CEO Matt Grimshaw. Trinity has acquired a property that once was home to a NAPA Auto Parts store, situated right alongside National Road on the western end of the city.

The location makes a great deal of sense. Trinity already owns and operates clinics located on the nearby Plaza Drive. The construction of a new hospital will allow the health system to expand its offerings in the same area, while making a wide array of health care services available to residents who currently have to travel several miles to obtain the hospital care they need.

Initial plans appear to consider the community’s needs as well as its heritage. Not only will the former NAPA building be incorporated, but site plans seem to retain and preserve a section of brick road that reportedly was part of the original National Road.

The facility, which may break ground this summer and be completed by 2024, represents a $12 million investment by Trinity. The future hospital will be housed in a two-story structure that includes a 10-bed emergency room, two operating rooms and six in-patient rooms for short-term stays. It will offer radiology and laboratory services as well.

Grimshaw also pointed out that the new facility will work with other local hospitals, including East Ohio Regional Hospital and the WVU Medicine system. That is key to making community health care work for the community — it gives people the option to receive care where they choose.

Congratulations to Trinity Health System and to the Belmont County community.