Breaking Ground at The New Sistersville General Hospital and Launching The $12M Promise Campaign
Memorial Health System, alongside state and community leaders, broke ground today on the future site of the new Sistersville General Hospital, marking a historic step toward expanding rural healthcare in West Virginia. The groundbreaking ceremony, held across from the current hospital, also served as the official launch of The Promise Campaign, a $12 million fundraising initiative led by Memorial Health Foundation to support the project.
Community members gathered to witness the ceremony and hear from key speakers, including Memorial Health System President and CEO, Scott Cantley, Deputy Speaker of the House, Delegate David Kelly and Delegate Trenton Barnhart of the West Virginia House of Delegates, Executive Director of the West Virginia Water Development Authority, Marie Prezioso, and representatives for US Senator Shelley Moore Capito and US Senator Jim Justice.
During the event, Delegate David Kelly and his wife, Jan Kelly, formally announced The Promise Campaign as the campaign’s co-chairs. The campaign aims to raise $12 million in total to ensure advanced care and long-term sustainability for the new hospital and Memorial Health System’s clinics throughout Tyler County. To date, $9.7 million has already been invested by the State of West Virginia, Tyler County Commission, City of Sistersville, and the Towns of Middlebourne and Friendly, along with an additional $300,000 in private philanthropy—leaving just $2 million left to raise.
The audience was surprised with the announcement of a generous $125,000 lead gift from Peoples Bank, presented by Kathryn Bailey, Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, and Treasurer. Additionally, Together Campaign Co-Chairs, supporting the upcoming Women and Children’s Hospital, Dan Breece, DO, and Leah Breece, announced a personal donation of $25,000 to the Promise Campaign.
The new Sistersville General Hospital will bring modern care closer to home and expand access to essential services in the area. To do this, the facility will include dedicated space for rotating specialists in top-tier service lines, procedure space to support advanced services, community spaces for meetings, events, and education programs and dedicated lab and diagnostics for faster, more accurate results—all in one place.
Sistersville Mayor William (Bill) Rice celebrated the event, saying: “It’s something I still can’t quite believe. Over the years, we went from trying to build a new Sistersville General Hospital to nearly closing its doors. Today is an unbelievable day for the people of this town—more than anyone will ever truly know.”
When asked if he had anything else to share, Mayor Rice simply said: “Thank you to Memorial Health System.”
To learn more about Sistersville General Hospital, visit SistersvilleGeneralHospital.org. To learn more or to support The Promise Campaign, visit PromiseMHF.org.
