Sister Francesca Lowis, vice president of mission integration, read a letter at Thursday’s ceremony on behalf of the Pallottine Sisters.
BUCKHANNON, W.Va. — Community members and area officials gathered Thursday to commemorate a partnership undertaken by St. Joseph’s Hospital. The unveiling of their new logo celebrates the hospital’s joining United Hospital Center/WVU Medicine.
St. Joseph’s Hospital recently joined WVU Medicine when it transferred sponsorship to UHC and WVU Medicine from the Pallottine Missionary Sisters. WVU Medicine is the parent corporation for UHC and multiple other hospitals and health care systems in West Virginia.
St. Joseph’s officially became a member of WVU Health Systems, the parent of WVU Medicine, last year.
“WVU Health Systems is committed to providing access and quality of care in West Virginia, particularly in North Central West Virginia,” said CEO Dr. Christopher Colenda in an interview Thursday.
He said the company is working on an integrated health care system that will focus on providing better health and well being to the patients they serve. They became interested in the partnership a couple years ago as the Pallottine Sisters needed to remove some of their hospital access due to their shrinking number and need to focus on keeping their programs alive.
St. Joseph’s Hospital Administrator Skip Gjolberg said this partnership has provided the hospital with access to networking, services and purchasing power they didn’t previously possess. For example, last year, the Hospital saved $102,000 in purchasing alone.
The Pallottine Sisters will remain a fixture within the hospital, and the institution could remain a Catholic hospital permanently, Gjolberg said.