Morgantown, W.Va.-based WVU Medicine will acquire Welch (W.Va.) Community Hospital after the McDowell County Commission approved the takeover, according to the Bluefield Daily Telegraph.
The financially struggling hospital has been "a drain on the county" and the state in recent years, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice said during his State of the State address on Jan. 11.
Welch Community Hospital is the only acute care hospital in McDowell County but has seen patient volumes decline and decreased services over the years as it continues to battle staffing shortages.
"McDowell County is an area that has for a long time been left way, way behind," Mr. Justice said, according to the Telegraph. "WVU Medicine will take over the hospital and bring to the coalfields a shining light."