Pleasant Valley Hospital becomes Rivers Health

Thursday, June 15, 2023

New era for health care begins for Mason, Jackson, Gallia and Meigs counties

Mountain Health Network announced today that Pleasant Valley Hospital will now be known as Rivers Health. The new name and branding come after extensive discussions with more than 900 community and staff members.

“Our community spoke and we listened,” said Keith Biddle, COO, Rivers Health. “They are excited about the future of health care in our area and the possibilities a new name represents.”

The name incorporates the key geographic feature of the area, the two rivers that come together at Point Pleasant — the Ohio and Kanawha. In addition to signaling a new direction, Rivers Health also better represents the community served.

“This hospital serves patients beyond Point Pleasant,” Biddle said. “We are honored to serve the people of Mason and Jackson counties in West Virginia and Gallia and Meigs counties in Ohio. Rivers Health better reflects the patient area we serve.”

Along with a new name comes new opportunities to improve the health care of the Rivers Health Community through additional services and physician specialists and the revitalization of specific areas, including the emergency department.

“Rivers Health will continue to be the hospital built by the community for the community,” Biddle said. “The same friendly, compassionate staff will continue to provide care for their friends and neighbors. As part of Mountain Health Network, we are able to build for the future by providing more services backed by the resources of Cabell Huntington Hospital and St. Mary’s Medical Center. And through Marshall Health and the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine’s commitment to support our community’s health care, we are able to add additional physicians and specialists.”

Among the additional providers who have joined are Emad Al Haj Ali, MD, an ear, nose and throat specialist, and a team from Marshall Health providing gastroenterology services. MHN has also implemented a Tele-ICU program and neurology telemedicine program, allowing physicians from CHH and SMMC to provide patient consultations via telehealth.

In addition, the Sleep Disorders Center has reopened and improvements have been made in the emergency room and Regional Health Center to enhance workflow and the patient experience. The emergency services physician group employed by SMMC, U.S. Acute Care Solutions, is now providing emergency care in the Rivers Health ER and Radiology, Inc., West Virginia’s largest radiology physician group, is now providing imaging interpretation and interventional radiology services. Commonwealth/Riverside Anesthesia began providing services in June and work has begun to upgrade the Rivers Health Pharmacy. These additions and improvements allow Rivers Health to continue to provide a full range of services, including surgery, orthopedics, oncology/cancer and cardiology.

“We are very proud of our staff and the care that they have provided our community over the past six decades,” Biddle said. “We believe our new name signals a new era of health care in our area and our recommitment to being the provider of choice for our community.”