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The West Virginia Encyclopedia
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The West Virginia Encyclopedia
Ohio Valley Medical Center was a 200-bed hospital in downtown Wheeling. It began as City Hospital on January 1, 1890, following an initiative by Wheeling women’s groups led by the women of St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church. City Hospital took quarters in the former Wheeling Female Seminary and opened to patients in 1892. On January 14, 1914, the East Building of the present hospital complex was opened on the old seminary site, and the hospital officially became Ohio Valley General Hospital.
City Hospital Training School for Nurses opened in conjunction with the hospital in 1892 and was the first nursing school in West Virginia. The first two nurses trained there received their diplomas in 1894. In 1926, the Nurses Residence was built to house the large classes of nurses. The school of nursing closed in 1988.
On January 26, 1973, the hospital’s board of trustees voted to change the name to Ohio Valley Medical Center to reflect the growing services, staff, and broader geographic focus of the facility. In April 1976, the hospital embarked on the most extensive building program of its history, a new eight-story patient tower designed to accommodate 200 replacement beds previously located in the East Building. On April 27, 1980, this new West Building opened.
Once one of the area’s largest employers, Ohio Valley Medical Center offered an array of primary and tertiary care, from emergency and trauma services to rehabilitation and medical education of future physicians and other medical professionals. Ohio Valley Medical Center was part of the Ohio Valley Health Services and Education Corporation, parent company of OVMC and East Ohio Regional Hospital, until Alecto Healthcare Services purchased the two hospitals in June 2017. In August 2019, Ohio Valley and East Ohio announced they would close in October if a buyer was not found. On September 4 it suspended acute and emergency medical services. The hospital closed shortly after. The former hospital was torn down in October 2023.
Patient records can be obtained via the East Ohio Regional Hospital website.
Written by Howard P. Gamble