"Wetzel County being a rural hospital, we have a lot of patients that have to drive about an hour to even reach us," Danielle Gunto, director of support services, told WTOV9 in March. She was talking about the new wound care clinic. The same reasoning explains almost everything WVU Medicine Wetzel County Hospital on Route 2 added over the past seven months.
None of the 2026 additions is a single big-ticket procedure. Each one handles care that repeats: a wound checked week after week, an infusion on a schedule, oncology follow-ups that can go on for months. For a family in New Martinsville, the useful count isn't how many services the hospital has. It's how many drives out of the county a long stretch of treatment takes. This year the hospital went after that number one service at a time. For the trips that still have to go somewhere else, it put a critical-care ambulance crew on its own campus.
The year, in order
| When it was reported | What was added | What it handles |
|---|---|---|
| March 4, 2026 | Wound care clinic | Slow-healing and infection-risk wounds, with repeat evaluations and dressings |
| July 13, 2026 | Longer Outpatient Infusion Center hours | IV therapies on evenings and weekends |
| July 24, 2026 | Oncology clinic with Dr. Nabiel Alkhouri | Cancer evaluations, treatment planning and follow-up |
| Aug. 23 to Sept. 14, 2026 | HealthTeam Critical Care Transport base | Critical-care ground ambulance transport |
The table uses the dates the news reports came out. For the wound clinic and the longer infusion hours, the reports don't say exactly which day the change took effect.
Wound care is a weekly appointment, not a one-time visit
The wound clinic treats wounds that are slow to heal or at risk of infection: diabetic foot ulcers, pressure injuries, surgical wounds that aren't healing properly, and traumatic wounds. Services include full evaluations, advanced dressings and therapies, infection management, and coordination with specialists.
Hospital officials pointed to a regional pattern behind the decision. Rural populations often have higher rates of diabetes and vascular disease, and both raise the risk of wounds that won't heal. This is care that repeats, and every visit used to add a drive. Gunto's point was that many patients already drive about an hour just to reach Wetzel County Hospital, so sending them farther for ongoing wound care stacks one long drive on top of another.
Cari Tennant, ambulatory supervisor for the specialties clinic, put it this way: "We are much more than a BAND-AID station here at Wetzel County Hospital."
The infusion center now runs past the workday
In July, The Intelligencer reported that the Outpatient Infusion Center had extended its hours. It's now open 7 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.
The list of what the center handles is longer than most people would guess: IV infusions, hydration and electrolyte replacement, blood and blood products, antibiotic therapy, iron infusions, monoclonal antibody therapy, specialized injections, vascular access device maintenance, wound care, catheter care, and chemotherapy pump takedown. It also works with the WVU Cancer Institute to coordinate cancer treatments.
The hours are what make this part of the larger change. A 7:30 p.m. weekday close leaves room for an appointment after a full shift, and weekend mornings mean a treatment doesn't have to cost a day off. Hospital president and CEO Tony Martinelli described the goal in terms of trips:
"Every service we can provide locally is one less trip our patients have to make outside the community."
He also said evening and weekend availability is meant for patients balancing treatment with work, school or family obligations.
The oncology clinic covers the follow-up visits
Eleven days after the infusion news, The Intelligencer reported that the hospital had launched an oncology clinic led by Dr. Nabiel Alkhouri, a medical oncologist with the WVU Cancer Institute. The clinic focuses on medical oncology and follow-up care: evaluations, consultations, treatment planning and ongoing oversight done locally. When more advanced treatment is needed, it coordinates with the larger WVU Cancer Institute network.
This clinic shows the strategy most clearly. It wasn't built to replace a major cancer center. It handles the part of cancer care that adds up over time, the routine visits that the article says can strain patients emotionally, physically and financially. Martinelli's comment was specific: "When someone is facing cancer, the last thing they should have to worry about is spending hours on the road for routine follow-up care."
The two July changes also work together. The infusion center was already doing chemotherapy pump takedown and coordinating with the WVU Cancer Institute before the oncology clinic opened. Now a local oncologist and an infusion center with longer hours sit in the same building, which means more of a treatment plan can happen in New Martinsville.
The Wetzel County Hospital Oncology Clinic is accepting patients. For information or appointments, the hospital lists 304-455-8042.
For the trips that still have to go, the ambulance is now on campus
Some care can't be brought closer to home, and the hospital's own announcements say so. The oncology clinic hands off advanced treatment to the WVU Cancer Institute, and the hospital is part of WVU's Telestroke network. Through that network, Wetzel County Hospital connects by secure video to the stroke team at J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital around the clock. The video link existed before 2026, but it shows how much of the system is designed around keeping patients local when possible.
The year's last addition addresses the cases where a patient does have to move. HealthTeam Critical Care Transport began operating its eighth ambulance base on the Wetzel County Hospital campus on Aug. 23. The Wetzel Chronicle reported on the formal ribbon cutting on Monday, Sept. 14, 2026. HealthTeam is a not-for-profit critical care transport system, a wholly owned subsidiary of HealthNet Aeromedical Services, and the Chronicle describes it as the state's only nationally accredited ground ambulance service.
Danie Gunto, the hospital's director of operations and chaplain, opened the ceremony with a prayer of safety. Clinton Burley, president and CEO of HealthNet Aeromedical Services, said the base reflects "our commitment to ensuring residents of this region have timely access to high-quality emergency medical transportation." Martinelli, who leads both Wetzel County Hospital and Reynolds Memorial Hospital, said the base helps "strengthen emergency care resources close to home."
Taken together, the year has a clear shape. The routine, repeating care moved closer to home, and the transport for the trips that still have to leave now starts from the same campus.
The smaller things that make a long visit easier
A hospital set up for repeat visits needs a place to wait. The Wake Up, Wetzel coffee shop, which serves Starbucks, was announced in summer 2025 with an Aug. 4 grand opening. WVU Medicine's visitor page puts it just inside the main entrance, open 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays and 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekends. That page dates from 2025, so the hours may have changed since.
Specialty coverage had already started growing before this year. In January 2025, WVU Medicine added interventional cardiologist Dr. Rohan Naik to the Wetzel and Reynolds clinic rotation. He sees Wetzel patients in clinic and Wheeling inpatients. The 2026 changes continue the same approach of bringing specialists in on a schedule so patients don't have to go to them.
None of this is medical advice. Scheduling questions for any of these services go to the hospital directly, starting with the oncology clinic line at 304-455-8042.
At Pathway Real Estate Professionals, we keep track of what's changing around New Martinsville because it affects how the people we work with plan their days. If you're thinking about what your home is worth in a town where more care is now available close to home, request a free home valuation and we'll walk you through it step by step.
