Keeping Care Close to Home: WVU Medicine’s New Southpointe Location

By Andrew Wilson

Proximity to downtown Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh International Airport are some of the many features touted by the Washington County Chamber of Commerce for locating a business at Southpointe, but, for WVU Medicine, it was more about convenience for the patients.

“We are all about keeping care local,” said Douglass Harrison, North Region President of WVU Medicine. “We want to make Southpointe as close to a one-stop shop for everything related to healthcare.”

He said WVU Medicine’s Southpointe location will feature an Urgent Care that is open until 8 p.m. every day, primary care physician offices, as well as office space for specialists like allergists, endocrinologists, and orthopedics – to name just a few.

“Southpointe can handle everything but an inpatient stay,” Harrison said. “Our goal is to take care of everything we can from a healthcare perspective without making people drive a long way to receive that care.”

It takes a lot of planning to establish a nearly comprehensive healthcare location like Southpointe.  He said the first thing looked at was the population base – would there be enough people in need of healthcare services to make it sustainable?  Once it was determined that the population base was there, it became a matter of looking for additional office space.

“First, we asked our physicians if they would be interested in setting up an office at Southpointe,” Harrison said.  “The answer was a resounding ‘yes.’ Many of our physicians come from southwestern Pennsylvania, they know the area well and were enthusiastic about the idea.”

WVU Medicine’s Southpointe location is planned to open in November and, in addition to primary care physicians and an urgent care, will include specialty services in allergies, behavioral medicine, cardiology, dermatology, ear, nose, and throat, endocrinology, imaging services, laboratory services, neurosurgery, orthopedics, pediatrics, podiatry, rheumatology, urology, and women’s health.

“Before you place specialists, you have to have a strong primary care base, and we have that,” Harrison said.  “It comes down to culture and mission. WVU Medicine has a provider-based perspective, as opposed to an insurance-based perspective. We also have an insurance product – Peak Health – but the commitment we are making is to give priority and autonomy to our physicians without dictating how they provide care.”

He said that WVU Medicine’s culture and mission perspective appeals to more than just physicians too. He described the response as overwhelmingly positive when positions were posted for other healthcare professionals to work at Southpointe. This is critical when there is a such a nationwide shortage of many healthcare professionals – especially nurses. 

Among the initiatives Harrison mentioned to address the need for professionals in the region include partnerships with West Virginia University’s School of Medicine and School of Nursing, but it doesn’t stop there. WVU Medicine has established a two-year diploma-based program for nurses that will graduate its first class this Spring, and there is a two-year radiation technology program that will be up and running in 2027.

“We’re trying to get very creative with how we partner with other institutions,” he said. “We’re going into local high schools to introduce students to careers in healthcare, while also developing programs, like our Aspiring Nurse program, that create new pathways into nursing and other healthcare professions. It’s really about finding innovative ways to support students,strengthen our workforce, and create opportunities for people to build their careers right here in our communities.”

“Southpointe’s opening is a significant opportunity to expand our brand, our reputation, and our healthcare delivery model,” Harrison said.  “We’re excited about this opportunity, but, most of all, we look forward to being good neighbors and building trust with that community by delivering high-quality care.”

WVU Medicine is the clinical and academic health enterprise of West Virginia University. Founded in 1996 to unify academic medicine, clinical care, and community health initiatives, WVU Medicine has grown into a regional powerhouse with 25 hospitals across West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. It includes specialized institutes, such as the WVU Cancer Institute, WVU Critical Care and Trauma Institute, WVU Heart and Vascular Institute, WVU Eye Institute, and the WVU Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute.

To find a WVU Medicine physician near you, please visit www.wvumedicine.org/doctors or call 855-WVU-CARE (855-988-2273).