It was the Ohio Valley General Hospital until 1972 when the board for the non-profit medical facility decided to regionalize the health care options in Center Wheeling.

The archives of the Ohio County Public Library offers the following historical account:

Ohio Valley Medical Center is 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.  

In 1911, the original 60-bed building was declared unsafe and was razed the following year. A new 154-bed health center was designed by architect Edward F. Stevens. 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.

Now one of the area’s largest employers, Ohio Valley Medical Center offers 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 is part of the Ohio Valley Health Services and Education Corporation, parent company of OVMC and East Ohio Regional Hospital. It is also affiliated with Family Services-Upper Ohio Valley. Until 2004 the hospital operated Peterson Rehabilitation Hospital in the Woodsdale section of Wheeling.

[Above text adapted and added to from Gamble, Howard P. “Ohio Valley Medical Center.” e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia. 14 October 2014.]

Photography by Steve Novotney

A photo of a building.
The future of the OVMC campus remains in question, but the potential is overwhelming.
A plaza area.
The buildings are connected with walkways on the OVMC campus.
A large building on a hospital campus.
There are two sections of the Nurse’s Residence on the OVMC campus.
A photo of a walking bridge.
The City moved a few departments into the Education & Administration Building during the pandemic.
A large auditorium.
This space once was used for educational purposes when the OVMC was still in operation.
A photo of two boilers.
Just one of these two boilers will be needed during the winter to heat the buildings on campus.
An empty room in an abandoned building.
This former event room is located on the south end of the new addition to the Nurse’s Residence.
The rear of a hospital.
The South Tower once was a busy place thanks to all of the treatment centers and doctor’s offices.
A large office.
This large office is within the Education and Administration Building.
A hospital examination room.
Most of the equipment was taken from the EMSTAR unit at OVMC.
A hallway inside a hospital.
Most of the South Tower is move-in ready once the debris is removed.
A group of folks picketing near downtown Wheeling.
Former state senator Bill Ihllenfled joined several people for a rally that raised awareness about the closures of OVMC and EORH.
A hallway that spans a street below.
This skywalk over Chapline Street extends from the Center Wheeling Garage to the West Tower of the former OVMC campus.
A modern style building.
Hillcrest Behavioral Health Services operated on the same campus as the Ohio Valley Medical Center.
A dark hallway in a former hospital.
Most of halls in Hillcrest are dark today after many years of treating residents of the Upper Ohio Valley and beyond.
A common room in a hospital.
When in operation, this area was used as a common room for the patients to gather during their days at Hillcrest.
A tall building that was a hospital.
The West Tower was the “new hospital” when Alecto-West Virginia purchased and then closed the medical facility.
A phot of a server room in a former hospital.
This room on the seventh floor of the East Tower was known as the “server room” for the entire hospital.
A bird's eye view of a crowded town.
The factory for Hazel Atlas was located across Big Wheeling Creek from the Ohio Valley General Hospital.
A color postcard of a hospital.
This was the first hospital constructed in the city of Wheeling.
A broken logo for a former hospital.
It was announced in early August 2019 that the OVMC campus and East Ohio Regional Hospital would close, but it took place a month early in Wheeling.

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