Wetzel County Hospital will officially join West Virginia University Health System later this year, a move that will transition the Morgantown, W.Va-based hospital to an Epic EHR system, according to a Jan. 15 WTOV report.
Wetzel County Hospital signed a letter of intent to merge with WVU Health, which will give the Morgantown-based health system control of the hospital's finance, legal, human resources and public relations offices. While Wetzel County Hospital will also gain more specialist physicians, patients will have a wider physician reach thanks to WVU Health's Epic EHR.
"Really, the most important piece of the puzzle though is the [Epic EHR]," said David Hess, MD, CEO of Wetzel County Hospital, according to the report. "They will have Epic and be completely connected to every physician, every other healthcare entity in the system, which is a big plus."
Wetzel County Hospital and WVU Health plan to make the merger official by July 1, the publication reports.