CHARLESTON, W.Va. — For the first time since 1998, Wal-Mart is not the largest private employer in West Virginia.
WVU Medicine, formerly known as West Virginia United Health System, rose to the top of this year’s ranking of the top private employers in the Mountain State, according to the annual report from WorkForce West Virginia. Wal-Mart fell to second place.
WVU Medicine, under its prior name, was the second-largest private employer in the state for a decade.
Albert Wright, the president and CEO of WVU Medicine, said the name change doesn’t have anything to do with WVU Medicine’s placement on the list, but its acquisition of new hospitals and high number of new hires does.
“A lot of people say, ‘How are you growing so fast?’ ” Wright said. “I think we’re just doing better than ever at taking care of our folks and keeping people here in West Virginia.”
Wright said his organization made a commitment a few years ago to increase the number of specialists the hospital system has on site, so patients wouldn’t have to drive to faraway hospitals to get the care they need.
Wright said WVU Medicine has hired 500 nurses this year, and is still actively recruiting 150 physician assistants — of which 110 are entirely new positions.
“Over the last couple years, we’ve added hospitals in Buckhannon, Keyser and, on Oct. 1, Reynolds Memorial Hospital, in Glen Dale,” Wright said. “As we’ve gone through these acquisitions — and we’re just growing like crazy — our numbers keep rising.”
Joining WVU Medicine and Wal-Mart in the top five rankings are Charleston Area Medical Center, Kroger and Mylan Pharmaceuticals. Lowe’s Home Improvement Centers rose from eighth to sixth on the list.
Two Huntington hospitals that are planning to merge, St. Mary’s Medical Center and Cabell Huntington Hospital, ranked seventh and eighth, respectively. Wheeling Hospital ranked ninth, and the home-care company ResCare rounded out the top 10.
According to WorkForce West Virginia, this year’s top 10 employers have 4,395 more people than last year.
Earlier this year, Wal-Mart closed 154 locations across the country, including one store in McDowell County.
WorkForce West Virginia compiles the rankings each year based on quarterly contribution reports from the first quarter of the year.
The agency doesn’t release employment numbers, to “maintain employer confidentiality,” according to the release.
Chelsea Ruby, director of marketing and communications for the West Virginia Department of Commerce, said she couldn’t say if WVU Medicine had more employees this year than in years previous, or if Wal-Mart had fewer.
Reach Jake Jarvis at [email protected], 304-348-7939 or follow @NewsroomJake on Twitter.
