Dec. 1—OAK HILL — New River Health (NRH) officials invite the public to help them christen the center's new facility this week.

NRH will host the grand opening of the Oak Hill site next to Kroger on Thursday, Dec. 1 from 3 to 6 p.m. A ribbon cutting, tours and a health fair are on the schedule today as the public gets to see the center up close. NRH will offer free Covid-19 vaccines and tests, free flu shots and blood pressure screening.

According to Chief Executive Officer John Schultz, the multi-million-dollar expansion consolidated the Scarbro and Fayetteville offices, as well as Mount Hope Dental, and will enhance health care and related services.

"The staff and board of directors are extremely excited and proud to see this location come to fruition," said Schultz. "We feel it will be an asset for the community, as well as a state of the art medical and dental facility that our patients will feel comfortable coming to for the health and dental care needs."

Medical, dental, behavioral health, X-Ray, cardio-pulmonary, Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) and benefits counseling serve as the basis of care, with urgent care, a drive-thru pharmacy, and ancillary services such as obstetrics/gynecology, audiology, vision, podiatry, cardiology and more coming soon.

A dietary kitchen is set up for nutrition, diabetes management and other classes.

All of the services mentioned are available at the Oak Hill location, except pharmacy and vision services, Schultz said. "We are expecting pharmacy services to be operational by the first quarter of calendar year 2023, and vision services to be operational by the second quarter of calendar year 2023."

NRH staff and board members have expressed pride in the new facility, according to Schultz. "We have evolved from a storefront in Scarbro opened in 1978 to locations in Sophia, Smithers, Summersville and Lookout, as well as services for nine schools in three counties," he said in a press release. "But this Oak Hill site is like nothing our patients, or this community, have ever seen.

"It is inviting, spacious and state-of-the-art, and will allow us to continue to serve more patients with even more needed services."

School-based health facilities will continue to operate as normal, as will sites in Sophia, Smithers, Summersville and Lookout.

All NRH pharmacies — Smithers, Sophia, Scarbro and Fayetteville — will be open regular hours Monday through Thursday 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Fridays until 5 p.m. The Scarbro Pharmacy will move to Oak Hill in early spring 2023.

NRH has about 165 total employees currently. "We hope to increase staff by another 10 percent over the next six months," said Schultz.

New River Health isn't the sole occupant of the facility, which was revamped from a former Kmart location. Also located onsite are LabCorp, Hilltop Coffee and BodyWorks, which offer their services to NRH patients as well as the public.

Space is still available in the facility for appropriate leasers, said Schultz.

The companion New River Convention Center, adjacent to the clinic, is approximately 12,500 square feet, and the clinic space is about 52,700 square feet.

A grand opening for the convention center will be held at a later date. Anyone interested in more information about events should go to newriverconventioncenter.com or call Malia Self at 304-640-7991.

Numerous inquiries into using the convention center for future events have been made, according to Schultz.

"We owe a debt of gratitude to our faithful patients, supportive community and visionary board of directors for our latest expansion," said Schultz. "We think everyone will be proud to have NRH Oak Hill right here in the center of the New River Gorge National Park."

The total cost of the project is approximately $16 million, he said. The project was financed though First Community Bank, and NRH officials were able to secure a $5 million earmark with the assistance of the offices of U.S. Senators Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito.

New River Health Oak Hill is open Monday to Friday and Saturday mornings with extended hours and urgent care planned in the near future. Hours vary by department.

NRH is a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) which accepts most insurances and offers a sliding fee for those who qualify.

For more information, follow NRH on Facebook or call 304-469-2905.

Email: skeenan@register-herald.com; follow on Twitter @gb_scribe