Preston Memorial Receives 2019 Business of the Year Award from the Chamber of Commerce

Representatives from Preston Memorial administration, physicians, boards and staff proudly accept the 2019 Business of the Year Award at the Preston County Chamber of Commerce Annual Dinner & Awards Banquet. 

Since opening its doors in 1955, Preston Memorial Hospital has been an integral part of the county, providing quality healthcare twenty-four hours a day, as well as contributing millions of dollars to the local economy. Throughout the past year Preston Memorial has continued to serve residents through community benefit programs and the introduction of new service lines, and is proud to accept the 2019 Business of the Year Award from the Preston County Chamber of Commerce.

Preston Memorial Hospital President and CEO, Melissa Lockwood explained that PMH is honored to be named the Preston County Business of the Year for 2019. “Our employees, administration and board are committed to providing quality healthcare in our community,” Lockwood said. “Since the opening of our new facility, PMH has experienced steady growth in all service lines. But, we have remembered to give back through Health Fairs, Speakers’ Bureaus, donations to various organizations and many other ways.”

Kim Liston, Community Programs Coordinator at Preston Memorial, stated that over the past three years Preston Memorial has given back an average of $800,000 in community benefit programs each year. Community benefit programs include health fairs, blood drives, free sports physicals, student rotations, tobacco cessation and more. “All of our community outreach underlines our mission to enhance the health of our community – one person at a time,” Liston said.

Preston Memorial also partners with various organizations within the community to assist in the coordination of events including the Salvation Army Angel Tree Program, drives for local food pantries and the Backpack Program, the Preston High After Prom Party, Lights on After School, WV Caring Health Fairs, among many others.

Lockwood explained that playing an active role in the community makes all the difference. “This is why we work so hard to be the best we can be. This commitment is evidenced in our most recent four-star rating by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services,” Lockwood said. “Only eight hospitals in the state were given this honor.”

Lockwood expressed the amount of pride PMH employees take in their work and making a difference in the health of Preston County residents. “On behalf of myself, the Board of Directors at Preston Memorial, our physicians and employees, I would like to thank the Chamber of Commerce for the 2019 Business of the Year Award. We’re very honored to receive this award and even more honored to provide healthcare in our community, taking care of our family and friends every day,” Lockwood concluded.