Downtown Bluefield welcomes Bluestone Health Association

Bluestone Health Association CEO Linda Hutchens prepares to cut the ribbon | BEDA Staff Photo

Bluefield, WV – Bluestone Health Association celebrated the grand opening of their new location at 701 Bland Street on Friday, July 30th with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The new location will begin accepting patients on Monday, Aug. 2. On Nov. 19, 2020, Bluestone Health acquired the Hawley Building from the Bluefield WV Economic Development Authority (BEDA) to establish another Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC). You can read the press release from November 2020 here.

"The partnership came at a perfect time after the sudden need to expand healthcare in Bluefield," stated BEDA Executive Director Jim Spencer. "We are elated that Linda and the Bluestone Health Association board chose downtown Bluefield. This is a real shot in the arm for our downtown."

The ceremony began with opening remarks from CEO Linda Hutchens who then welcomed Bluestone Health Association President Norman Fletcher to share his excitement for the new location. Hutchens then asked Mayor Ron Martin and Spencer to share their remarks regarding the project. Tours were then offered of the building to interested parties.

Spencer wanted to highlight special guest Ray Moeller with the Downtown Appalachia Redevelopment Initiative (DARI) at West Virginia University for the funding for the preliminary architectural assessment as well as funding for architect Bryson VanNostrand to map out how the clinic would look. "Just looking at the [Hawley Building] we knew it would take someone who was visionary to see the bigger picture for the potential of this building. BEDA can't thank DARI enough for funding the architectural plans so Ms. Hutchens and the Bluestone Health team could see just how the building would be perfect for their next location," said Spencer. "Ms. Hutchens saw our vision and she and her team took it to the next level. You wouldn't believe what this place looked like beforehand."

This was another successful BEDA project. Visit Bluestone Health's website for more information on their services: www.bluestonehealth.net

– Questions regarding this press release should be sent to Savannah Carabin at scarabin@bluewv.org