Ohio Valley Health Services and Education invited local leaders to the groundbreaking ceremony this morning. With the start of site preparation and construction, the CEO of Ohio Valley Medical Center said they are using local contractors, which means construction jobs for area workers while the building is in the works.

The contractors lined up and officially broke ground Wednesday morning. The site is across the street from the current Ohio Valley Medical Center. The new building will be a 30-bed inpatient behavioral health center, for children.

Hospital officials said there is a need for this type of facility in the city and in the state and while OVMC has promised this type of facility before, they say the financial position of the company is on the upswing and this is the right time for the project.

"We really hope this project is a sign of the rebirth of the Ohio Valley Medical Center and East Ohio Regional Hospital as well as Center and South Wheeling," Ohio Valley Health Services and Education CEO George Couch.

Officials said that this was the last project that the late Sen. Robert Byrd funded before his death. He secured more than $5 million for the center. That is more than 80 percent of the total cost.

They expect the center to be finished sometime next year.