Facility marks 12 months of serving Belmont County.
St. Clairsville, Ohio — August 24, 2026 — Trinity Health System, a proud member of CommonSpirit Health, is celebrating the one-year anniversary of the opening of the St. Clairsville Neighborhood Hospital.
Since opening its doors on August 18, 2025, the 20,000-square-foot acute-care hospital has significantly expanded healthcare access, delivering emergency services, surgical care, and specialized treatment directly to residents across Belmont County and the surrounding Ohio Valley communities.
Built to bridge critical gaps in regional healthcare access, the state-of-the-art two-story facility features 10 emergency treatment rooms—including dedicated trauma suites, fast-track bays, and specialized rooms for behavioral health and bariatric care—along with two operating rooms, six inpatient rooms, advanced imaging, laboratory capabilities, and a dedicated helicopter landing zone.
Over the past year, the facility has provided thousands of local patients with timely, life-saving care close to home, reducing the need for emergency transport across state lines.
Here are a few of the statistics:
- 10,227 ER patients;
- 931 total admissions to Trinity West and East campuses;
- 213 St. Clairsville admissions;
- 200 St. Clairsville surgeries.
A Year of Providing Care
In observance of its first-year anniversary, Trinity Health System conducted extensive interviews with the medical professionals at St. Clairsville Neighborhood Hospital. They expressed profound gratitude for being part of a facility dedicated to providing more healthcare options for communities in Belmont County.
“I was very excited when we found out that Trinity Health System was going to be building a hospital here, especially having lived through the closures of both hospitals and then the closure again of East Ohio, and it was nice to know that the people of the Ohio Valley were going to have another choice for healthcare,” Dr. Christopher Gooch, Emergency Department Director, St. Clairsville Neighborhood Hospital, said. “We have a population that’s getting older that still needs healthcare options.”
Within the emergency department, nurses mentioned the overwhelm many local healthcare facilities experience and how St. Clairsville Neighborhood Hospital has created a viable solution to this crisis.
“I feel like a lot of the local facilities are busy and overrun, so we just provide more resources and more care close to home, especially for the emergency department patients,” Desiree Buckley, Registered Nurse, Emergency Department, St. Clairsville Neighborhood Hospital, said.
“There are things such as broken arms and broken ankles–they need a splint or something like that–and there’s no need to go wait seven hours when the Neighborhood Hospital here can get them out within the hour,” Heidi Terek, Charge Nurse, Emergency Department, St. Clairsville Neighborhood Hospital, said.
A Year of Professional Growth
St. Clairsville Neighborhood Hospital personnel also recalled the excitement of opening a new hospital and how it challenged them to grow as professionals.
“It was palpable. Everybody’s excited,” Scott Wiltshire, Registered Respiratory Therapist, St. Clairsville Neighborhood Hospital, said. “We kept waiting and waiting for that first patient to come in, and when the first patient came into the ER, sure enough, he was the first patient admitted upstairs also. He touched all the bases.”
“It’s been a fantastic challenge, it’s been a fantastic growth, honestly,” Ethan Levendorf, Pharmacist in Charge, St. Clairsville Neighborhood Hospital, said. “When we all started this, we really took the mindset that ‘we’re in this together,’ between the providers, between labs, EDS, nursing, pharmacy, respiratory, everyone. I honestly think everyone hit the ground running.”
“It was great because we started out with everything we needed,” Terek said. “It was so nice to just be able to grab a brand-new piece of equipment that worked and was accessible to us.”
Being a fully functioning micro-hospital requires the team to wear many hats and to not only complement but also contribute to the care that’s being provided across all service lines.
“We often have to critically think since there’s not as many of us and there’s not as many resources,” Buckley said. “I feel like I’ve grown in my clinical decision-making skills, due to the fact that we are so small here. I’ve also stepped into the charge nurse role for some shifts. And it’s just learning how to navigate those issues without so many people to help.”
“Respiratory here has to wear many hats,” Wiltshire added. “We do respiratory, we do patient care, PCT work, EKGs; we fix meals, we clean, we take care of anything and everything actually aside from nursing. I’ve even sat at the registration desk. I am thankful that I am working here.”
A Year of Promoting Community
In the beginning, there were some misperceptions on social media about the services offered by St. Clairsville Neighborhood Hospital, with some residents assuming it was another urgent-care facility. However, within its first few months of operation, the community began to realize the convenience of having a hospital close to home.
“When we opened, people thought we were going to be an urgent care,” Terek said. “When you hear the word ‘hospital,’ people automatically think of 24/7. It definitely has lived up to that. We have people coming in all hours of the night. Overall, people in this Valley love this hospital.”
“The very first couple of months it was hit or miss and now our ER is full practically from the get-go until I go home,” Wiltshire said. “People are understanding and recognizing that we’re here, and they’re taking advantage of it. You would be surprised at the number of people who have said, ‘I am so glad that you guys are here.’ They don’t want to go to Barnesville; they do not want to go to Wheeling. Even Trinity West is too far for them. They are grateful and happy to have us here.”
“I’ve seen nothing but positive feedback on social media and news outlets,” Buckley added. “And then obviously there’s Press Ganey scores and reviews, but I think that the community appreciates us being here. Sometimes patents will honestly come back in after their visit just to say thank you or to leave a note, and those are always the most rewarding. It just feels so personal.”
Playing a role within the community has been vital to spreading awareness about the hospital, Dr. Gooch said.
“I feel that we’ve integrated very well into the community, and we continue to do so by sponsoring local events, such as participating in the Christmas parade. It’s just important to show that we’re not just here taking up space in St. Clairsville, but we are here for the community and we want to serve community in whatever capacity that we’re able to.”
“We are a fully staffed micro-hospital,” Wiltshire added. “They don’t have to go to an urgent care to be told to go to an emergency room. We’re here. One-stop shop. We’re smaller than the big boys, but we offer pretty much the same stuff. There are certain things that we don’t have the space for, but give us time.”
A Year of Personal Connection
According to those we interviewed, one of the keys to their success over the last year has been the sense of family that has developed among the staff at St. Clairsville Neighborhood Hospital.
“We work as a family here,” Buckley said. “We get compliments from patients. I really like the small atmosphere. The nurses in the ER, we all work as one big family, and we do help each other out.”
“I’m getting a little gray-haired, a little older to be running in those big hospitals,” Wiltshire said. “This little hospital is ideal for me. I get to take care of patients, spend time with the patients, and get to know my work colleagues and doctors. I think that is the one thing I’m most thankful for is being able to take my time.”
“I really enjoy working here,” Terek added. “And I think that it’s got a lot of potential to grow even bigger. Since we’ve been open, we’ve put in the helipad, we’ve flown a lot of people out, we’re doing more surgeries, every day we have people in our in-patient.”
Years Ahead of Potential Growth
St. Clairsville Neighborhood Hospital was essentially a start-up facility. As its footprint has grown, however, its staff sees the potential for expansion in the hospital’s future.
“I would just see our role getting bigger,” Dr. Gooch said. “Because already we’re running out of space. I think we need to be able to help increase our service lines as well as increasing the physical space because the need is there for quality healthcare that’s available locally for people.”
Levendorf agreed: “I would love for future expansion down here. I know we have some stuff we’ve been game-planning to increase our population load or increase our scope of practice, and it’s all very exciting. I’m one hundred percent on board with it and ready to roll.”
As part of CommonSpirit Health—one of the nation’s largest nonprofit health systems—Trinity Health System remains committed to creating healthier communities, championing health equity, and ensuring high-quality healthcare is accessible to all.
For more information about the services provided at Trinity Health System St. Clairsville Neighborhood Hospital, please visit trinityhealth.com.
