RANSON, W.Va. -- An Eastern Panhandle emergency department will more than double its capacity with a hospital expansion set to begin in November.

The 6,000-square-foot expansion and renovation at Jefferson Memorial Hospital in Ranson will take the emergency room from eight to 19 beds.

It will also overhaul the waiting room, add a decontamination room and link to a new radiology suite. Plans also call for more parking.

Chief Administrative Officer Christina Coad says the hospital averages 22,000 patient visits per year in a facility not designed for those volumes. She says the addition will allow for growth until a new hospital is built.

RANSON, W.Va. -- An Eastern Panhandle emergency department will more than double its capacity with a hospital expansion set to begin in November.

The 6,000-square-foot expansion and renovation at Jefferson Memorial Hospital in Ranson will take the emergency room from eight to 19 beds.

It will also overhaul the waiting room, add a decontamination room and link to a new radiology suite. Plans also call for more parking.

Chief Administrative Officer Christina Coad says the hospital averages 22,000 patient visits per year in a facility not designed for those volumes. She says the addition will allow for growth until a new hospital is built.