Press Release

MCHD celebrates 50 years in current location; searching for upgraded building

Sep. 23, 2025

MORGANTOWN — In the 50 years since the dedication and opening of the Monongalia County Public Health Center in September 1975, the health department housed within its walls has experienced many changes.
These include the addition of a full-service dental office, a new Threat Preparedness program to contend with increasing threats and a worldwide pandemic that prompted employee numbers to temporarily double in size.
Established in 1929 and initially placed in the Monongalia County Courthouse basement, Monongalia County Health Department moved to a few different locations before settling in at 453 Van Voorhis Road in a $1.259 million building dedicated on Sept. 13, 1975.
Now, five and a half years after the COVID-19 pandemic was declared, Monongalia County Health Department leaders are embracing the future with an eye toward a new home.
“After 50 years as a staple of public health in our community, it’s time to find a more modern facility that meets our growing needs,” said Anthony DeFelice, Monongalia County Health Department’s executive director.
MCHD is strategically located off Van Voorhis Road, adjacent to the WVU medical campus and near two hospitals, and DeFelice wants to find the right space for the right price as he continues the search for a good opportunity.
“Location is extremely important,” he said. “We are fortunate to be currently situated near both major hospitals and accessible to public transportation, which is vital for the citizens we serve.”
Also, he noted, MCHD is the only academic health department in West Virginia. “Proximity to the WVU School of Public Health is also crucial to maintaining strong partnership, student engagement and collaborative relationships.”
MCHD’s original programs, Clinical Services and Environmental Health, fulfill legislated requirements laid out in West Virginia State Code Chapter 16, Article 2, to inspect restaurants and other businesses, offer food safety instruction and to provide disease reporting.
The health department has undergone many changes throughout the years. In 2010, MCHD Dentistry, established in 1974, began meteoric growth from a small staff that treated children only to a full-service dental office with two dentists, six full- or part-time hygienists, three dental assistants and three office staff members, plus patients of all ages and income levels.
“We’re really proud to have the only full-service dental office in a health department in West Virginia,” DeFelice said.
In 1972 came the creation of the federally-funded Women, Infants and Children’s program; in 1980, six West Virginia counties were put under the MCHD umbrella. That program just moved to the White Birch Towers building across from Mon Health Medical Center in early 2025.
And MCHD’s fifth program, Threat Preparedness, was created in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks on the World Trade Center.
During the pandemic as the health department workforce nearly doubled in size, Environmental Health and Threat Preparedness moved to rented offices near Morgantown Municipal Airport.
But those employees returned to the home base as of July, and accommodations have been made to comfortably house 55 staff members.
“We’ve had to get creative with our use of space,” DeFelice said. “By adopting a hybrid/remote work model for some of our team, we’ve been able to meet our current needs without expanding our physical footprint.”
However, “Our employees have been hard-working and dedicated, especially considering the challenges that the pandemic brought. So we want to be able to provide a good space for them to work, preferably all under one roof.”
Doing so has required the work of two skilled maintenance workers, Greg Campbell and Ben McGaha, who have, in some instances, torn down walls only to build them back up a couple years later as spaces have been repurposed several times, including for two new, state-of-the art dental operatories that opened in 2023.
“Greg and Ben have touched every square inch of the building,” DeFelice said.
In addition to inadequate space, the infrastructure of the building is old, still requiring a boiler and chiller for heating and cooling. It’s also not up to current IT standards.
When it came time to find a dedicated space for MCHD in the 1970s, federal funding was secured through the Hill-Burton Act in 1973. Additional funding came from the Appalachian Regional Commission, the Monongalia County Commission, the Benedum Foundation and the Davis-Lynch Glass Co.
Monongalia County Health Department will celebrate a centennial of providing free and low-cost care to area residents in 2029.
With all the technological advances and changes in the way Monongalia County Health Department serves the public, it’s once again time to find more modern digs.
“An upgraded facility is essential to support the future of public health in our community,” DeFelice said. “It will provide the space needed to properly house our growing workforce, offer a state-of-the-art environment to deliver high-quality care, significantly improve our infrastructure and create dedicated space to collaborate with more effectively with our community partners.”