Ballad celebrates renovations at Lonesome Pine Hospital

BIG STONE GAP, Va. (WJHL) – Ballad Health leaders cut the ribbon on renovations at Lonesome Pine Hospital in Big Stone Gap Monday.

According to Ballad Health, the hospital system has completed its renovation project for Lonesome Pine’s emergency department. The project is part of Ballad’s multi-year plan to improve patient services in Southwest Virginia, according to a Ballad spokesperson.

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Ballad leadership marked the completion of the renovations Monday morning. The project represented a $1.5 million investment.

Eleven emergency department rooms were renovated and four new inpatient beds were added. Additionally, three rooms in the hospital’s emergency department were also outfitted with negative pressure capabilities, which will allow patients with infectious illnesses to be better isolated.

“This project was extremely important,” said Shannon Showalter, vice president and CEO for Ballad Health in Lee, Wise and Dickenson Counties. “As you know, most of these hospitals are older buildings. We want to make sure that we’re renovating them and giving our patients and our staff members state-of-the-art opportunities to take care of patients.”

The hospital will begin phase two of its plan at Lonesome Pine next, which will include renovating the second and third floors and adding a wellness center and other spaces.

Lonesome Pine Hospital celebrated 50 years of servicing Wise County and the area in August 2023. Hospital executives said at the time that major investments and renovations for Lonesome Pine were in the works.

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