The new Potomac Valley Hospital — a state-of-the-art 49, 000-square-foot facility that began construction in 2006 — is slated to open its doors by September, according to PVH Administrator Mike Makosky.
The $16 million building being constructed on Pin Oak Lane on Route 220 South towards New Creek will replace the current facility located on South Mineral Street in Keyser — a building that is over 70 years old that hasn’t received additions since the 1970s.
Operations will move to the new location, which offers 10 thousand square feet more room than the old facility.
Makosky said that local architect Shelly Missimer of Lakeside Architecture revised the blueprint of the new hospital.
“We will be expanding the ER by six to eight beds,” said Makosky. “It is more patient-friendly, with no steps. It is all one level.”
The new hospital will also feature separate waiting areas for outpatients, and one for both inpatients and ER patients, providing increased privacy to patients.
A larger cardiac rehab exercise room and two private exam/treatment rooms will be located in the new cardiology department.
Currently, cardiac phase one and phase two are accomplished, and soon phase three will be added. Phase three is an exercise program for patients who have completed phase two, said Makosky.
The stress testing machine is located next to the nuclear medicine, so that patients having nuclear stress tests can easily access both machines.
Two ultrasound machines are available, and they were purchased less than one-year ago, said Makosky.
One of these machines will be located in radiology and be dedicated to abdominal and other similar ultrasonic test. The other will be situated next to cardiology and dedicated to studies of the heart and arteries.
The administrative section contains both offices, including administration, medical records, and clinical functions as lab and pharmacy.
The lab will be larger than the current one and feature a large waiting room.
The administrative wing will also include a larger gift shop and a small chapel.
The surgery section will include two operation room suites, an outpatient surgery room, a two-bed recovery room, and an endoscopy suite.
The surgery area will have eight private areas for same day surgery and a private consultation room for the surgeon to talk to the family.
In addition, the surgery area will have two exam rooms and a private patient room, equipped with air conditioning suitable for an isolation patient and could be used as a third recovery room.
The dining room will contain over a dozen more chairs that the current dinning area.
Makosky emphasizes that the hospital continue to offer the same services including endoscopys, outpatient, inpatient,  and same day surgeries.
In addition, the hospital will house 25 beds  — 21 of them general medical beds,  and four Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds.
Constructed by Struever Brothers of Baltimore, Md., Makosky said there are plans in the works for a new MRI service.
“There is currently no room to put it in where we are now. We will have room out there,“ said Makosky.
The MRI service will begin as mobile until the facility completes 2,100 scans and then it will become permanent, according to state law,
said Makosky.
X-ray services at the hospital will be revamped with well over two million dollars being spent on new equipment including a new CAT scan machine, two new X-ray rooms and a new nuclear medicine system.
The new location allows for future growth while the current hospital, opened in 1931, is landlocked.
“There is no room to expand the old building. We are landlocked from all sides, and we can’t build up any more, or add any more stories to it,” said Makosky.
Wade Greason, Superintendent Assistant and Carpenter of Struever Brothers, says the project is coming along at a steady pace. “We couldn’t be happier in Keyser building this hospital for them.”
The new hospital is being funded privately through First United Bank and its owner, Harold McBee, Sr.
McBee, a resident of Stevensville, Md. also owns a hospital in Wisconsin and is the former owner of Hampshire Memorial prior to Valley Medical purchasing the facility.
The road on Pin Oak Lane leading up to the hospital has been upgraded with the help from the county who through their TIF — Tax Incremental Financing efforts, assisted in the infrastructure of the entrance to the
hospital.
“They put in the sewer line, potable water line, and a rain water control system,” said Makosky. “They provided the financing to put all that in.”
Makosky and his staff are anxious to move into the new facility and look forward to providing patients with new and improved services.
“The staff is preparing for the move. We can’t wait to get into it,” said Makosky. “We hope to add specialty doctors who will come in once a week to host a clinic, so residents won’t have to travel out of state to receive these services.”