Jul 3, 2016 5 min read

WAYNESBURG – Just a few years ago, it appeared Greene County might lose its only hospital.

The 10-year contract with RegionalCare Hospital Partners was set to expire in August 2015 and it was unknown if the for-profit hospital system based in Brentwood, Tenn., would continue operating Southwest Regional Medical Center near Waynesburg.

In early 2013, RegionalCare began searching for a buyer and reached out to major hospital systems in Pittsburgh and northern West Virginia. But if a deal couldn’t be finalized, it appeared RegionalCare might walk away, leaving Waynesburg area residents without their hospital that was originally built on its current site 80 years ago.

“At one point, there was always that concern,” said Greene County Commissioner Blair Zimmerman, who was a member of Southwest Regional’s hospital board at the time. “They were talking to different facilities. They had gotten rid of other hospitals and we always thought they were looking.”

Over the next two years, it became clear Washington Health System, based just 22 miles north of Waynesburg, was the leading candidate to acquire the hospital and consolidate it into its growing system. Negotiations accelerated in late 2014 and by May of the following year, WHS announced it was purchasing the hospital.

“They had made it clear that it no longer fit into their strategic plan and they had looked around to partner or find something one buy it,” WHS President and Chief Executive Officer Gary Weinstein said of RegionalCare’s viewpoint. “After knocking on a few doors, the partnership made the most sense for us. We had already been taking care of Greene County patients of many years.”

Still, there was some insecurity about what the system’s long-term plans were for Greene County.

“Are they coming in to close us up? Are they moving services to Washington?” Zimmerman remembers. “People were wondering what might happen to staffing. There were people on the street who were afraid, and maybe even in the back of my mind.

“But I no longer have that fear,” Zimmerman added. “I think they’re here for the long run.”

The purchase was finalized July 1, 2015, and the facility was immediately rebranded as WHS-Greene hospital. In the year since, initial fears gave way to what both local and WHS officials are lauding as a streamlined system that offers more services with improvements to the emergency department.

Over the past year, WHS spent $617,000 in facility and technology improvements, and now is preparing to spend $2 million on a state-of-the-art MRI machine and a new building to house it.

“Getting to know the community has been critical,” said WHS-Greene President Terry Wiltrout, who began overseeing operations last July. “For me to come into Greene County and be a part of it and get to know everyone, it’s been good. The investments we’ve made show we are here for this community and will continue to provide health care for this community for a long time.”

When WHS acquired the hospital there were concerns services might be moved to Washington. While there was some consolidation, Wiltrout said attrition from Southwest Regional’s original staffing level was “minimal” and only in the “single digits.” He said WHS management supervises the majority of departments at WHS-Greene.

The immediate focus for WHS was streamlining services and improving the emergency department, which Washington officials viewed as a critical component for medical care in Greene County.

There were already some partnerships before, but the two hospitals began working together on an “EM-Care” unit in late 2014, with 25 to 30 members of the WHS emergency department splitting time at both hospitals. Over the past year, wait times improved to less than 20 minutes and patients are being asked for feedback on how to improve their services.

“It was very hard for a standalone hospital to attract physicians to a rural area,” Weinstein said. “They would have to bring in tenant positions – someone who would move on – and they weren’t invested in a system or the processes. We’ve got a stable cadre of physicians who are committed in Greene County.”

The hospital’s location just outside of Waynesburg also made it a prime location for Southwest EMS ambulance services, which recently opened a satellite office on the campus so it can reach the western side of the county faster.

The hospital, which has been at its current location since 1937, was locally owned until 2005 when Essent Healthcare of Tennessee purchased it. A few years later, RegionalCare absorbed it.

Zimmerman praised Cindy Cowie, who served as Southwest Regional’s CEO until the sale last year, for keeping the hospital running and offering services to local residents.

“She was excellent,” Zimmerman said. “She really cared about the hospital and did whatever it took to keep it going. And they’re doing a great job now.”

The hospital also had a charitable backer through Greene County Memorial Hospital Foundation, which spun out after the sale to Essent to raise money for various community projects. Wiltrout said the foundation donated $450,000 to help purchase the new MRI machine, which will be operational later this fall.

With the new partnership, Weinstein thinks there are more services available to Greene County residents because of the proximity to Washington.

“It just made a lot of sense to get the medical community in Greene County integrated so we’re able to provide a more holistic approach to care,” Weinstein said. “I think there’s clearly some community history here when you think of organizations like Community Action Southwest that covers both areas, the cooperation between the two, certainly WHS has had a presence in Greene County for some time.”

Weinstein said WHS is now “breaking even” operating the Waynesburg hospital and the past investments show they’re not leaving the community.

“It’s running fine,” Weinstein said. “I’ve very optimistic that this will be a very positive for WHS for a very long time.”