Our Lady of Bellefonte Hospital was a 214-bed not-for-profit acute care hospital located in Russell, Kentucky (with a mailing address of Ashland, Kentucky) in the Tri-State region of Northeast Kentucky, Southern Ohio, and Western West Virginia. Part of the Catholic-based Bon Secours Kentucky Health System, Inc., Our Lady of Bellefonte Hospital employed approximately 1,200 healthcare professionals, making the hospital the largest employer in Greenup County.
History
Early history
The Franciscan Sisters of the Poor, a congregation of Catholic sisters, received repeated requests from residents of different parts of Kentucky during the 1950s to open a hospital or social service center. In 1953 a group of concerned citizens approached the Most Reverend William T. Malloy, Bishop of Covington, and asked for his help in creating a new hospital called Our Lady of Bellefonte Hospital (OLBH). Construction started in 1952 on a tract, from downtown Ashland, Ky. At the time, the tract only was accessible by a small dirt road.
The official dedication of the hospital took place July 14, 1953 and included a reading of a cablegram from Pope Pius XII. It read, "Our Holy Father deeply grateful, learned forthcoming inauguration, Our Lady of Bellefonte Hospital, Ashland, Kentucky, sends cordial felicitations. Invokes God's special blessings, praiseworthy project. Imparts Your Excellency, priests, religious, faithful, and hospital staff, fraternal Apostolic Benediction."
Upon opening, the hospital had 92 beds and 40 bassinets. In March 1956, the road leading to the hospital was blacktopped and during the summer, a new highway, U.S. 23, was laid, thus reducing by about one-third the distance from Ashland to the hospital.
Growth through the years
In 1963, a fund-raising project was initiated for expansion including additional beds for adult patients, a pediatric unit, and an air-conditioning unit for an additional floor. The fourth floor addition was completed in 1966 and brought the hospital's bed capacity to 126 with 22 pediatric beds and 19 medical-surgical beds. In the late 1970s the emergency room began serving patients 24 hours a day. The third floor of the hospital was renovated and the first Intensive/Coronary Care Unit opened in 1979. In 1981, expansion provided new areas for the Emergency Room, Radiology, Laboratory, Physical Therapy and Respiratory Therapy. OLBH's first chemical dependency program was established December 21, 1981.
Continued expansion began in 1982 and included a new surgical unit and a seven-bed recovery area. Significant capital improvements took place in 1986 including the opening of a new rehabilitation and wellness center, a kidney dialysis center, a 116-car parking garage and a mental health/chemical dependency center that today operates as the Bellefonte Behavioral Health Center.
A wellness/rehabilitation center called the Vitality Center opened in 1992. The center featured an indoor track and rehabilitation-size swimming pool along with a variety of fitness equipment. The hospital opened a 24-bed addition in 1994. The addition created extra patient rooms and meeting space on each of the hospital's four floors. The second floor featured specially designed rooms for oncology treatments.
In 1994, OLBH began an outreach program, opening walk-in primary medical care facilities in several outlying communities. The centers offered many basic services onsite and were designed for non-emergency medical care. The original centers were located in South Shore, Cannonsburg, Grayson and Flatwoods. The areas are still being served today through OLBH's sister organization, Bellefonte Physician Services. In addition to the original locations, Bellefonte Physician Services today operates primary-care facilities in Ashland, Greenup and Ironton, Ohio. In 1995, ground was broken for the Same Day Surgery Center which was completed in January 1998.
Expansion in the modern era
In 1999 the Franciscan Sisters of the Poor Health System announced plans to disband. In 2000, OLBH was purchased by the Bon Secours Health System, Inc. of Baltimore, Maryland. OLBH introduced the Ashland-area's first sleep lab in 2002. In an effort to assist in training physicians, OLBH began a resident program in 2002 in conjunction with the University of Pikeville Kentucky College of Osteopathic Medicine. OLBH launched a mobile medical facility, known as the OLBH Mobile Health Center, in 2002. In 2004, OLBH became the first tenant of the former Ashland Inc. headquarters building, which was renamed Bellefonte Centre. The hospital would use the building for additional services, hospital departments and events.