MORGANTOWN — Mon Health EMS officials were at The Gateway on Sept. 20 to show off their new digs — a two-story, 15,780 square-foot facility that serves dual roles as doctor’s office and EMS substation.
While the majority of the building houses Wedgewood Family Practice, roughly 1,000 square feet of the building contains a drive-through vehicle bay large enough for two ambulances and the needed accommodations — a day room with a kitchenette, seating and television, office space with multiple work stations, storage and restroom facilities.
Mon Health EMS Director Dave Custer said EMS operations began rolling out of the new facility earlier this month.
“This is replacing and upgrading our station we had in Osage,” he said. “It’s a better location for us to respond, not only to the interstate quickly, but to Star City, Westover and the Blacksville area.”
Custer said one ambulance is operating out of the new building, but a second could be added permanently or temporarily in the event of anticipated traffic disruptions or other circumstances.
He went on to say that Mon Health EMS is looking at the Grafton Road area and the Pierpont/Cheat Lake area for additional ambulance staging locations.
The agency already has an agreement with the Blacksville Volunteer Fire Department that allows an ambulance to be staged at the fire station.
“By having stations out in all four quadrants of the county, we really can cover this county pretty well,” Custer said.
Mon Health invested $5 million to build and equip the entire facility.
