East Palestine Clinic, a service of East Liverpool City Hospital, staff members and administrators Thursday cut the ribbon for the grand opening at its new facility at 79 W. Main St. in East Palestine. (Submitted photo)

EAST PALESTINE (WKBN) – A new clinic in Columbiana County celebrated not just its grand opening, but also how it is making healthcare more accessible to the community.

The new location of the East Palestine Clinic, a service of East Liverpool City Hospital, held a ceremony and ribbon-cutting on Thursday morning.

The clinic is not an emergency clinic, but one that treats any phase of illness, whether it is acute or chronic.

It’s not only more visible but was purposely placed in the heart of East Palestine to make health more accessible to Columbiana County. There is patient parking near the entrance, along with additional parking, and it accommodates a modern lab for better patient care.

It was designed for patient care and easy access to the waiting area and treatment rooms.

“This clinic is very important to us. If a patient in the community needs to be seen for an acute illness or injury, they can present here and be seen on the same day,” said Dr. Gretchen Nickell, East Liverpool City Hospital’s chief medical officer. “It’s allowing us to continue our mission to provide primary care services to the citizens of East Palestine, in the surrounding communities, so that we can treat illness as well as increase access to urgent care. Having this here is much more accessible.”

The clinic has also partnered with the University of Kentucky, Yale, and the University of Pittsburgh, and with an East Palestine Train Derailment health research study to investigate the long-term health effects of those who may have been impacted by the 2023 derailment.

“This clinic does more than just address derailment concerns. It addresses what are long-standing Columbiana County health concerns,” said East Palestine Village Manager Antonio Diaz-Guy. “We have a very unhealthy population throughout the county, and this is just one step to getting our people to have more resources.”

The clinic is located at 79 W. Main Street in East Palestine and operates Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.