ABOVE: The surgical team at Marietta Memorial Hospital during first Watchman procedures. Memorial began offering the region’s first Watchman procedures in 2022-23 where patients can have a minimally evasive Watchman device inserted in their heart and it filters the blood for clots so they can eliminate the need for blood thinners and live a safer life. BELOW: A doctor with Memorial Health Systems shows a patient a new Watchman device which can be inserted in the heart and filters our blood clots, in some cases, eliminating the need for blood thinners. (Photo Provided)

MARIETTA — By building and bringing in new health services, Memorial Health System continues to be a lasting part of the fabric of the community.

Marietta Memorial Hospital Corp. was formed in 1921 by a group of local citizens who saw a need for a large, centralized health care center in the community. On July 9, 1929, the 65-bed hospital admitted its first patient.

“We have evolved from a regional hospital to a much more evolved regional health system caring for people right in their own communities,” said Jennifer Offenberger, Associate VP, Service Excellence.

Over the years, the hospital has tended to the needs of the growing community from the injured, the sick, births and more as it has grown and expanded services in cancer care, open heart procedures and more.

In 2008, Selby General Hospital and Marietta Memorial Hospital affiliated to form the Memorial Health System. Memorial opened its Belpre campus in 2012 and Sistersville Hospital in West Virginia becoming affiliated with Memorial in 2020. Now, Memorial is moving into Athens.

“We are unique in that we are trying to build all of our healthcare experiences right here in the Mid-Ohio Valley,” Memorial CEO Scott Cantley said. “That means bringing in the specialists and the types of technology that allow people to stay right here at home for their care.”

Many services available now previously could only be received by traveling to Columbus, Cleveland or elsewhere.

Memorial has been focused on oncology with the new Cancer Center in Belpre which opened in 2020 and now serves a multi-county region. The health system recently brought in Dr. Nik Shah from Parkersburg. It also has Dr. Rajendra Bhati, a surgical oncologist who is Fellowship trained in complex surgical oncology.

The cancer center is now doing Whipple procedures to treat pancreatic cancer. The procedure is lengthy and complex, but the incision is small and helps aid in recovery, officials said.

“We are the only hospital besides Cleveland (Clinic) that performs robotically assisted Whipples,” Offenberger said.

Memorial began doing open heart procedures recently.

In 2022-23, Memorial began doing transaortic valve replacements. It is a minimally invasive heart procedure, instead of a full bypass. Dr. Jason Schott, an interventional cardiologist, and Dr. Mark Tawil, a cardiothoracic surgeon, both do TAVR.

“We have led the Valley as the only hospital being able to do this cutting edge procedure,” Cantley said of TAVR.

Memorial began offering the region’s first Watchman procedures in 2022-23 where patients can have a Watchman device inserted in their heart which filters the blood for clots and eliminates the need for blood thinners.

“That is an incredible advance in cardiac care right here in the Mid-Ohio Valley,” Cantley said.

Even with all of those advancements, Cantley also is excited about how Memorial is handling primary care by providing more access.

In 2022, it instituted new procedures to allow patients to make same day or next day appointments if they need to see someone immediately.

Memorial has been able to provide free virtual urgent care to all Memorial patients through its MemorialCareNow app.

“If it is 3 a.m. and your kids have a fever and want to be seen by an urgent care provider, you can call in 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year and in real time see a provider over your phone,” Cantley said. “The service itself is completely free with no co-pay.”

Some people find it hard to believe this service exists, Offenberger said.

“People can’t believe it is free,” she said.

Memorial also offers a 24-hour Nurse Line that allows people to call in and talk with a nurse to see if they may need to go to the emergency room immediately or if they can wait. Offenberger said there have been instances where people were advised to come in immediately and received lifesaving care.

“That is what you get when you have a hospital that is completely focused on providing care right here in the Mid-Ohio Valley,” Cantley said.

Work is continuing on a new facility in Athens that is modeled on what Memorial did in Belpre. They are building a 100,000 square-foot facility with a parking garage on Columbus Road. The facility will have a free-standing ER facility on the first floor, outpatient testing and diagnostics on the second floor, physician clinics on the third floor and procedure rooms on the fourth floor.

They have had interest from doctors in orthopedics, OB-GYN and other fields wanting to work with Memorial in Athens.

“There is a lot of opportunity to grow healthcare there,” Cantley said.

The Memorial Health System continues to be a foundational part of the community.

With around 3,300 employees, Memorial Health System is focused on the community as they $600 million annually back into the local economy through its workforce, supplies, and more.

“Not only do we want our community to be healthy, we want our people to be healthy,” Offenberger said. “We want our community to be successful and grow.”

Every successful community needs great schools, churches and healthcare, Cantley said.

Over the last year, Memorial provided $60 million in free charitable care to the people in the valley.

“We touch thousands of people day after day in the most basic way and help them make good decisions,” Cantley said. “When you choose healthcare in the Memorial Health System, your entire journey is something we want to keep as close to home as possible.

“We bring all the advanced procedures, equipment and facilities and we bring them here to the Mid-Ohio Valley.”