Submitted photo Above from left, Lisa Wharton, Vice President of Marketing, Public Relations & Foundation; Paula Cutright, Executive Assistant; Ann Chidester, Vice President of Patient Care Services; Mayor Robbie Skinner; Skip Gjolberg, President; Sister Francesca Lowis, Vice President of Mission Integration; and Dr. Joseph Reed.

Submitted photo
Above from left, Lisa Wharton, Vice President of Marketing, Public Relations & Foundation; Paula Cutright, Executive Assistant; Ann Chidester, Vice President of Patient Care Services; Mayor Robbie Skinner; Skip Gjolberg, President; Sister Francesca Lowis, Vice President of Mission Integration; and Dr. Joseph Reed.

BUCKHANNON — City officials honored St. Joseph’s Hospital this week for its upcoming 100-year anniversary.

Buckhannon Mayor Robbie Skinner welcomed several St. Joseph’s Hospital administrators to City Hall and signed a proclamation this week.

Skinner thanked the hospital for serving the community for a century and for being one of the biggest employers in the county.

“There are things that Buckhannon could possibly do without – of course, we don’t want to do without any of them — but we cannot do anything without our hospital,” Skinner said.

St. Joseph’s Hospital President Skip Gjolberg has overseen its operation for the past five years, and is hoping to soon gain approval for the local Boards renovation expansion plans that would include a major facelift for the hospital, according to a city press release.

The proclamation reads:

“The Pallottine Missionary Sisters were founded in 1838 to assist Roman Priest Vincent Pallotti with his life’s mission to revive, strengthen, spread faith and enkindle charity throughout the world;

“The first of the Pallottine Sisters made their way to the United States in 1912 and in 1920 were invited to open a hospital in Buckhannon;

“The Pallottine Sisters purchased the Barlow estate in Buckhannon and opened St. Joseph’s Hospital on March 28, 1921;

“St. Joseph’s Hospital has grown from an eight-bed hospital to a medical community dedicated to serving the needs of the residents of central West Virginia;

“St. Joseph’s Hospital has provided our community with quality health care in ways which respect the God-given dignity of each person and sacredness of human life for 100 years.

“Be it known that on this 22nd day of March, 2021, I, Robert N. Skinner, III, Mayor of the City of Buckhannon, do hereby congratulate St. Joseph’s Hospital on their 100th Anniversary and thank their staff for their compassion and commitment in caring for our community. I urge residents to express their appreciation for St. Joseph’s Hospital and its vital role in Buckhannon.”