WVU Medicine Potomac Valley Hospital (PVH) is excited to announce that it has been selected to receive a $2.6 million federal grant award to support planning and construction activities for its new Center for Medical Services and Workforce Training. The Center will combine a much-needed 12,000-square foot expansion of the Hospital’s clinical care capacity with advanced telehealth infrastructure and custom designed workforce training spaces to help bolster the regional training pipeline for high-skill, high-demand jobs in healthcare.
The grant funding will be provided through the Recovery Act Assistance account of the Economic Development Administration (EDA)’s Public Works and Economic Adjustment Assistance Program (PWEAA) within the US Department of Commerce, and will be matched by a $638,800 (24.5%) local funding commitment from PVH. While EDA makes regular grant awards to projects in rural and underserved communities around the country, PVH’s Center is the first Recovery Act Assistance award for an acute care facility in West Virginia (one of only a few hospital awards to date nationally) and a testament to the role PVH plays as both a public health asset and an economic engine for Mineral County. EDA and PVH estimate that the finished Center will create up to 265 jobs, retain 370 jobs, and generate $203 million in private investment over the next decade.
“Potomac Valley Hospital is thrilled to receive this grant” said Mark Boucot, Chief Executive Officer of PVH. “The Center for Medical Services and Workforce Training is a vital part of our long-term growth plans to meet the physical and behavioral health needs of Mineral County residents well into the future. As the pandemic continues to strain hospital resources, we are thankful that the Economic Development Administration values investing in our expansion. I would also like to thank Senator Manchin, Senator Moore-Capito, and Congressman McKinley for their advocacy on PVH’s behalf during the grant process and for their continued support.”
The grant funding will be used to finance phased design, engineering and construction of the Center’s physical plant, a 12,000 square-foot, two-story auxiliary building adjacent to the main hospital. This expansion will allow for the growth of medical and specialty services in the community and will have the broadband infrastructure needed to sustain the Hospital’s growing suite of telemedicine services. PVH is particularly excited by new facilities in the auxiliary building designed to serve trainees enrolled in a wide range of degree and certification programs that have partnered with PVH to provide hands-on clinical experience for the next generation of nurses, nurse assistants, physician assistants, community health workers, pharmacy technicians, medical technicians, and mental health technicians across the region.
Potomac Valley Hospital is a nonprofit 25-bed Critical Access acute care facility in Keyser, West Virginia that has been providing emergency, primary, and specialty care for the residents of Mineral County since 1931. PVH’s dedicated clinical teams offer family medicine, pediatrics general surgery, cardiopulmonology, behavioral health, physical therapy, radiology, orthopedics and urology (among other services) and have been on the front lines of COVID-19 testing, vaccination and treatment in the region. The Hospital has been accredited by the Joint Commission since 1984 and a part of the WVU Medicine Health System since 2014.