Now that the executive staff at East Ohio Hospital is confident the project has the support of the residents and elected officials in Martins Ferry, the list of renovations and repairs needed to resurrect a full-service hospital has grown and is quite detailed.
Boilers, chillers, plumbing, and electrical, as well as purchasing a wide range of medical equipment and supplies have Chief Operating Officer Bernie Albertini and his staff working at a furious pace.
“Trust me; a hospital is much more than the beds,” he explained. “We have surveyed what is in the buildings now and what is needed to get the facility back into working order. We know what we have to do, but it is a heavy lift.
“There are not a lot of people working in this industry who have ever done what we’re going to do here,” Albertini said. “But we have a great plan in place and a lot of terrific people involved. This will happen as long as all the pieces keep falling together the way we can see it happening. Our No. 1 goal is to make sure we are completely ready on that first day because if we have 100 people come to the ER, we have to be sure those folks that need help get that help. We have to be sure that we are ready for everyone who is in need of that care.”
Positive Support
“When LEDE News released the first press release about the purchase of the building, the reaction was amazing with all of the shares off of social media, and I really believe it was a reflection of the need here in this community for this hospital to come back to what it was so local residents have that access again to the services that East Ohio hopes to offer in the future,” explained David Croft, an attorney with Spillman Thomas & Battle in downtown Wheeling. “That attention shows you the thirst, and right now, we’re out of the gate after the gun has gone off, and now it’s time for us to see what we can do with this opportunity.
“With Dr. John Johnson, a doctor who has been certified for more than 35 years and has hospitals and medical facilities in several places, the potential is really limitless at this point, but people do need to understand that there is no affiliation with any of those other groups,” Croft explained. “That’s been confusing for some people in this area, so we want to make sure everyone understands that this is an individual project on Dr. Johnson’s behalf. The potential is there, though, and we hope our plan can come to fruition.”
Following the Memorial Day holiday, Albertini is set to continue mapping out the facility’s future so the city of Martin Ferry’s commitment to offer back 75 percent of the income taxes paid by hospital employees is utilized wisely.
“We received overwhelming support from the members of Martins Ferry’s council, and I know they are working really hard for us and we appreciate that very much,” Albertini said. “There is that need for people on both sides of the Ohio River, and we hope to fill that need in the near future.”
“They had a lot of great questions, and that’s what you expect from your elected officials,” he said. “We offered our best answers during the meeting, and they understand that there is a lot of work that needs to get done so we can re-open this facility.”
Welcome Home
He is no stranger to the Upper Ohio Valley, and that is because Albertini is native of Wheeling and has served both the Ohio Valley Medical Center and EORH for more than 20 years. During the last few years, he was chief operating officer at Canyon Vista Medical Center in Sierra Vista, Ariz. Albertini was very involved with the community, as well, with involvement with the United Way and the St. Clairsville Chamber of Commerce.
“The reaction about my return has been very humbling, and it has meant a lot to me and my family,” Albertini said. “My father was a pharmacist, and he has the Pill Pox in Center Wheeling, so that’s the business I thought I would be running during my professional career. And then, before I knew it, I was operating East Ohio Regional Hospital from 2011-2018. After that, I saw a chance to go to Arizona to do similar work, and then we decided to come back home.
“We really liked it out in Arizona, but we really didn’t dig the town we were living in because it was too small and it was too far from anything like what we have here,” he explained. “We were home for a couple of months before I got a phone call from my friend, Dave Croft, and here we are today.”
