Josie Burkhart WORK CONTINUES — A construction team works on the new Trinity Health System hospital at 48530 National Road in St. Clairsville.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — Trinity Health System’s new hospital construction in St. Clairsville is underway, and the facility is expected to be occupied with employees and patients by next summer.

The hospital’s construction is progressing smoothly, according to Dwayne Richardson, president of the St. Clairsville Trinity Health System hospital.

“We’re excited. And again, just can’t wait to open up right now,” he said. “You know, one of the things that’s happening is that even though we’re just still in the building phases, I still have people asking me when we’re starting because they want to work there. And so that’s exciting news.”

Since the project was announced last summer, site preparation was done and concrete footings have been added. There is now a concrete slab and steel framing has been erected.

The 20,000-square-foot acute care service hospital will be a two-story building with 10 emergency rooms, two of which will be trauma rooms along with three fast-track rooms on the second floor, six inpatient rooms including one intensive care room and two operating rooms. The hospital will have other departments found in hospital’s from laboratory services to high-end imaging services.

The hospital will have a room geared toward bariatric patients and another room dedicated to behavioral health patients within an emergency room.

As soon as the hospital obtains its certificate of occupancy, it can start seeing patients. That is expected to occur in summer 2025.

Richardson plans to have tight networking with local emergency medical service squads. He also just met with the St. Clairsville Police Chief Matt Arbenz and Belmont County Emergency Management Deputy Director Glenn Trudo and plans to keep in close contact with them. That way they can be alerted when the hospital is about to open because high traffic is expected early in the hospital’s operations.

“I imagine we’re going to be full as soon as we open,” Richardson said.

Richardson noted that one of the things Trinity Health System is proud of is bringing Catholic health care to St. Clairsville as its first hospital. Not only is it bringing health care to the city, he said, but it is bringing an entire ministry to the community from a Christian background.