EAST PALESTINE, Ohio – Local and state leaders Thursday celebrated the opening of the new location of the East Liverpool City Hospital’s East Palestine primary care clinic.

The clinic, which opened at 139 N. Walnut St. after the Feb. 3, 2023, Norfolk Southern train derailment in the village, has been relocated to 79 West Main St.

“We’re very pleased to support the continued evolution of this clinic, now a Rural Health Clinic that is providing residents of East Palestine and the surrounding region with important health care services,” said Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, director of the Ohio Department of Health, who participated in a ribbon cutting for the new location. “It’s vital to have sufficient primary care providers in every community, and this clinic is helping fill that need.”

Last year, Gov. Mike DeWine and ODH announced $750,000 in funding to help the hospital find a new location for the clinic, one that would help expand its services.  

“We said from the beginning, more than three years ago, that we would stand by the residents of East Palestine and the region, and we are keeping that commitment,” DeWine said. “This new location for the health clinic will help ensure that residents will be able to continue to have access to health care in their community.”

The clinic is now located in the heart of the community and features a more modern, remodeled building. Expanded services include an improved lab, adult and child vaccine services and free sports physicals. These improvements enabled the facility to become a federally certified Rural Health Clinic, which is a facility located in a rural area that has been identified as having a shortage of personal health services or primary medical manpower.

“We are incredibly grateful to the Ohio Department of Health for their generous support of our new site of our primary care clinic, as their partnership helps us provide high-quality care to the residents in East Palestine,” said Stephanie Conn, president and CEO of East Liverpool City Hospital. “Our move to this new site reflects East Liverpool City Hospital’s unwavering commitment to being an active, visible part of the East Palestine community.”

Pictured at top: Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, director of the Ohio Department of Health.