The facility, which will be called the Elkins Corridor H Medical Center, will be located at the former Teter Motors property on North Randolph Avenue/U.S. Route 219, next to the Division of Motor Vehicles building. Construction of the clinic is projected to cost more than $37 million. When complete, the center will offer primary and outpatient services to residents of Elkins and surrounding communities.

United Hospital Center CEO and President David F. Hess was the moderator of the event, which featured a host of local leaders, including Randolph County Development Authority Executive Director Robbie Morris, Elkins Mayor Jerry Marco and Randolph County Commissioner David Kesling.

Special invitees attending the ceremony included West Virginia University Health System President and CEO Albert Wright, UHC Board Chairman Jeff Barger, Gov. Jim Justice’s Regional Representative Lynn Phillips, and Rhett Dusenbury from Congressman Alex Mooney’s office 

“I’m honored that everyone is here joining us on this very special, beautiful day, and I know with the rain you wouldn’t think I would call it a beautiful day, but anytime you have an event that is going to signify a long-term partnership between WVU Medicine and the City of Elkins and Randolph County, that’s always a beautiful day in my book,” Hess said.

United Hospital Center CEO and President Daivid F. Hess was the moderator of the ground-breaking event Thursday morning.

“We are so excited to be in Elkins and we have this project on an incredibly tight time frame,” Hess said. “And a lot of that has to do so we can be ready to line up for the Forest Festival next year… We are going to bring incredible health care, but more importantly we are going to bring access. So hopefully the only time you will need to go to Bridgeport is to shop, and to Morgantown is for football games.

“We want to try and keep as much local as we can and that’s really what we do better than anyone else… We do rural and we do ‘in your hometown’ better than anybody. And that’s why we want to be in Elkins, why we are excited to be here, and why we want this up in 12 or 13 months. We want everybody who comes in here for the Forest Festival to see that we are making a commitment to Elkins.” 

A centerpiece of the new facility will be the multiple specialty conveniences available, including essential health and wellness services, consisting of lab collection, primary care, infusion and walk-in family medicine, which will be open for extended and weekend hours.

The new facility will also offer comprehensive imaging services, including CT, X-Ray, ultrasound, echocardiography, and vascular screening. A range of rotating physician specialty clinics will also be available, such as audiology, cardiology, endocrinology, gastroenterology, infectious disease, oncology, orthopedic surgery, pain medicine, pulmonology, rheumatology and urology.

“There’s not much that we are not going to be able to do in this building,” Hess said. “When I was talking with Albert Wright about this project, he said he wanted a hospital without beds, and I think that is a good way to describe it. We are going to pack everything we possibly can into this building, except for overnight hospital stays and surgeries.” 

Wright, who is the West Virginia University Health System President and CEO, served as the featured speaker for the ceremony. 

“Projects like this one in Elkins, Randolph County, are exactly why the WVU Health System was created,” Wright said. “Because we now have a locally controlled health care system with an exceptionally strong leadership team and exceptionally dedicated board of directors that are making investments like the one we see here today…

“Our goal is to try and keep care as local as possible. This is a big investment in this part of the state that will help us try and complete our mission of bringing healthcare to all of West Virginia.” 

Morris welcomed everyone attending the ceremony on what he called a “momentous day” for the county. 

“What a great day to be in the City of Elkins, what a great day to be in Randolph County,” Morris said. “Elkins has always been an economic hub for the region and there are several reasons for that. The chief among them is access to quality healthcare and that access will expand greatly with the addition of the WVU Medicine facility we are here to break ground on today.

“We have great things happening throughout our county right now and this project is definitely one of them. I was talking with someone when I arrived here today, and I was telling them that within a two-mile stretch we will have nearly $100 million worth of projects either recently completed or soon to be constructed. In a town the size of Elkins that is remarkable and it has taken a local team effort to make those projects happen, and I’m proud to be a small part of that.” 

“We look forward to welcoming patients from all over the region to Randolph County and into this facility to access quality healthcare,” Morris said. “The need for patients to travel to Morgantown, Clarksburg and beyond will diminish greatly with the addition of this facility. That adds to the quality of life offered here in Randolph County and the surrounding region. While we are excited about the jobs that will be created, we are even more excited about the multiplier effect this facility will have on our community as a whole.” 

Marco said he was thrilled with WVU’s decision to come to Elkins and feels the new facility will eliminate many of the trips local residents have to make for medical services.

“It’s a tremendous opportunity for our citizens to get access to medical treatment that we currently don’t have in certain areas,” Marco said. “They won’t have to drive to Clarksburg or Morgantown anymore once the facility is here. Anytime you get someone investing in our community, it’s a good thing.”

Kesling also expressed enthusiasm for the project.

“I am excited that we have WVU investing in Randolph County,” Kesling said. “I look forward to having all of the premier services they will be providing for our county residents.”

When the new facility opens in 2025, it will feature 34 exam rooms, two procedure rooms, and one cast room. It will employ close to 30 people when the facility first opens.

The property that will house the new hospital includes 6.91 acres and was purchased in July 2023 by WVU Medicine United Hospital Center for $1,650,000.