BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. (WBOY) – Mon Health System, now part of Vandalia Health, announced Sept. 16 that it has been approved by the West Virginia Health Care Authority to build a small hospital in Bridgeport to serve the Harrison County community.
Mon Health System has been looking at the success rates of Mon Health Marion Neighborhood Hospital over the past few months. As they looked at the discharge data, they realized they had an opportunity to improve access to urgent care in and around the Harrison County area. They have been looking in the Harrison County area for a while and so they filed a certificate of need application with the State Health Care Authority in July.
Mon Health System Board of Directors Chairman Ed Boyle said the health system’s leadership is excited to begin construction on the small format hospital.
Mon Health Harrison Neighborhood Hospital will be a one-story facility located in Charles Pointe near the Bridge Sports Complex and West Virginia North Central Airport. The new hospital is expected to be nearly 20,000 square feet with 10 inpatient beds and eight emergency beds.
Small format hospitals are accredited by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and offer services that are hospital-based, such as inpatient and outpatient medical beds, diagnostic imaging and laboratory services, and full emergency services.
This new small hospital will be used for urgent care needs and help patients transition to the next level of care as needed.
“Many of our patients don’t always need surgery or higher levels, what we call interventions or procedures. They need good medical care close to home and this model is very affordable, very scalable, very quick to build and we believe it fills the gap for what is already in place around the area and what we think can do to improve access to care,” said David Goldberg, President and CEO of Mon Health System.
The developers of Charles Pointe approached Mon Health System about building that particular area. New homes have been built, and even a new restaurant is coming to the area within the next year. Charles Pointe presented Mon Health with their master plan and Mon Health President said it just made sense to choose the specific location.
Mon Health is now working on the planning process and wants the new Neighborhood Hospital to be up and running within the next 18 to 24 months.
