West Virginia is now home to a larger academic health system through the combination of Huntington-based Mountain Health Network, Marshall Health and Marshall University, which was finalized Oct. 5.
The new system, named Marshall Health Network, consists of four hospitals: 303-bed Cabell Huntington Hospital, a 72-bed pediatric hospital within Cabell Huntington, 393-bed St. Mary's Medical Center and 101-bed Pleasant Valley Hospital. Cabell Huntington is a teaching hospital for Marshall University Schools of Medicine, Pharmacy and Nursing; St. Mary's operates St. Mary's Schools of Nursing, Respiratory Care and Medical Imaging.
All of the hospitals were part of Mountain Health Network, which is now renamed Marshall Health Network. The network also includes an 80-member multispecialty physician group.
Kevin Yingling, MD, CEO of Mountain Health Network will continue to serve as CEO of Marshall Health Network.
"From primary care and rural health to specialty services, the new system improves access to high quality care for patients of all ages," Dr. Yingling said in a news release shared with Becker's. "Our highly trained physicians and staff are dedicated to addressing our region's pressing health issues of addiction, behavioral health, obesity, and eldercare. Uniting as a system strengthens our shared commitment to expand research, develop clinical centers of excellence, and offer new medical specialties."
The governing boards for each party voted unanimously in April to authorize a letter of intent to form the integrated academic health system with the aim to complete the combination by 2024.