WHEELING — WVU Medicine CEO Albert Wright is confident its facilities can handle care of patients being displaced by Ohio Valley Medical Center’s closure.

OVMC announced Tuesday that it was suspending acute and emergency medical services at 11:59 p.m. Wednesday. OVMC officials have not said when current patients have to leave the hospital, but others indicate OVMC’s facilities will close Friday.

WVU Medicine is working on a long-term solution to meet psychiatric care needs in the Northern Panhandle, Wright said Wednesday.

He said WVU Medicine made a formal offer last Thursday to lease OVMC’s inpatient mental health units — Hillcrest and the Robert C. Byrd Behavorial Health Center — but negotiations broke down Tuesday after OVMC made its announcement.

WVU Medicine sought to lease the two buildings for one year, but the property owner — Medical Properties Trust Inc. of Birmingham, Alabama — wanted a longer lease.

“The holding company in Alabama was asking for a much longer-term lease than we were willing to commit,” Wright said.

Medical Properties Trust owns the real property of OVMC and East Ohio Regional Hospital in Martins Ferry and leases the buildings to Alecto Healthcare Services, owner of OVMC and EORH.

“We had made an offer to lease those two buildings — Hillcrest and the Byrd Center — for a year with the intent of taking over those operations, hire all those employees and take over services in those two buildings or build out other resources at Wheeling Hospital or Reynolds Memorial Hospital or elsewhere,” he said.

Hillcrest and the Byrd Center aren’t considered long-term options because “they don’t have dietary, pharmacy, labs or any type of imaging, especially if the main hospital closes,” Wright said.

“After we got the news of the immediate closure (of OVMC), our team pivoted and abandoned the concept and focused on an orderly transition of patients from Alecto to WVU Medicine,” he said.

According to Wright, OVMC reportedly had only 15 patients receiving acute care and 15 patients between the two psychiatric units.

“We are looking at finding a way to take acute care patients who have some behavioral health or substance abuse needs,” he said. “Long term, we are looking to build a full psychiatric unit at WVU Medicine Reynolds.”

More immediately, he said there is some behavorial health capacity at WVU Medicine’s psychiatric hospital in Morgantown, at the state-run William R. Sharpe Jr. Hospital in Weston and Highland Hospital in Charleston, “some potential” at Reynolds and possibly at Fairmont Regional Medical Center, which is an Alecto facility.

Meanwhile, Wheeling Hospital and WVU Medicine Reynolds Memorial Hospital in Glen Dale have the capacity to take on other patient care services previously offered by OVMC, Wright said. WVU Medicine owns Reynolds and has an agreement to manage Wheeling Hospital.

WVU Medicine also is making plans to expand emergency and urgent care services in the Wheeling area.

“What I think we’ve got to do is get the right people to the emergency department,” the CEO said.

To accomplish that goal, WVU Medicine is going to expand the emergency room capacity at Reynolds and establish urgent care facilities in Moundsville and downtown Wheeling, he said. Sites identified for urgent care are a former chiropractor’s office in Moundsville and space in Wheeling’s Stone Center that formerly housed Wheeling University’s physical therapy program.

Wright and WVU President E. Gordon Gee have met with West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice about the future of health care in light of Alecto’s plan to close OVMC and EORH by Oct. 7.

“We have been in constant contact with the governor’s office,” Wright said. “They’ve been very helpful through this process. We’ve been very pleased in their help in trying to accommodate us.”

OVMC officials blamed its suspension of services “upon a lack of interest from potential purchasers” and “an overall lack of response from state officials.”

Asked about OVMC’s action, Wright said, “I was surprised that they sped up the closure. It’s a little bit disappointing. … I don’t get angry or get too upset. … Our job is find ways to take care of those patients.”

WVU Medicine’s other focus is helping displaced OVMC employees to get new jobs.

“Over 100 have been hired at Wheeling Hospital and 100 more are in the pipeline,” Wright said.

Wednesday evening, West Virginia Governor Jim Justice expressed his disappointment in Alecto’s decision to prematurely end negotiations, coupled with the premature suspension of services.

“”It’s easy to see this huge out-of-state conglomerate cares very little for West Virginia,” Justice said. “Even though we have tried everything to keep OVMC open, I have always said that we have to be financially responsible and make sure that we don’t throw money away by giving it to out-of-state corporations that are trying to line their pockets as they prepare for bankruptcy.

“While I’m disappointed in the actions of Alecto, I applaud the continuing efforts of WVU Medicine to respond to the health care neds of the Ohio Calley in a timely fashion, even without the Alecto Healthcare management team at OVMC.”