BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. — The first patient to be treated at its Bridgeport campus helped United Hospital Center celebrate its five year anniversary and the unveiling of a new logo.
Then eight-years-old, Adelle Thrush said she was a bit scared going into the new 692,000 square foot, eight-level structure, but the staff quickly set her mind at ease.
“I didn’t really know what was going on but I felt very comforted because they made sure that I knew what was happening in my body and what was going in my body and how they were helping me to get better to do all the things that I love.”
She didn’t think much of the milestone in October 2010, but now the 13-year-old Washington Irving Middle School student considers it neat to be the hosptial’s first patient.
“Now that I look back at it, it’s kind of, like, crazy thinking in this whole building, out of all the patients in that hospital, they chose me to be the first one to come into this new hospital so that I could have better care,” she said. “When you look back, it was pretty amazing.”
As the hospital continues through its next five years, expansion of services and the quality of care are at the forefront.
If it is on the Bridgeport campus, through the WVU Medicine system or through the new sponsorship with St. Joseph’s Hospital, the patient’s well-being will be the main goal.
“To provide great care to the right patient where it makes sense,” Michael Tillman, CEO at UHC said. “We’re going to continue to be here as United Hospital Center and we’re going to continue to provide great care to our patients.”
To go along with the five-year mark, UHC unveiled its new logo that is consistent with the movement of its partner, WVU Medicine, with whom the hospital has been affiliated with since 1997.
Tillman said it will serve as a reminder to the community that they are a hospital with a vast amount a resources in Bridgeport and around the state.
“You have a good community hospital who can meet the needs of the local population and then also the ability to refer seamlessly to an academic medical center, or what’s been come called a quaternary medical center, for real specialized services.”
A similar logo will be adopted by all of the hospitals, representing the continuing evolution of the system, which recently adopted its WVU Medicine name.
“Having a common logo brand for the system, I think, will bring the promise to patients wherever they go that they will receive outstanding, high-quality clinical care,” said Christopher Colenda, President and CEO of WVU Medicine.
WVU Medicine is currently the parent corporation for UHC, Camden Clark Medical Center, Ruby Memorial Hospital and several other hospitals from the Potomac to the Ohio.