Ohio Department of Health opens new location for primary care clinic with expanded services in East Palestine 

The Ohio Department of Health has opened a new location for East Liverpool City Hospital’s East Palestine primary care clinic.

The clinic, now located at 79 W. Main St, was originally established as a temporary health care facility in response to the Norfolk Southern train derailment.

Gov. Mike DeWine and ODH Director Bruce Vanderhoff attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new clinic location on April 30.

“We said from the beginning, more than three years ago, that we would stand by the residents of East Palestine and the region, and we are keeping that commitment,” DeWine said in a release. “This new location for the health clinic will help ensure that residents will be able to continue to have access to healthcare in their community.”

DeWine and Vanderhoff announced that $750,000 in funding would be awarded to help East Liverpool City Hospital transition its East Palestine primary care clinic to a new location in 2025.

The primary care facility was originally established as a temporary health clinic to address the derailment in 2023. The hospital opened it as a permanent health care clinic the same year.

“We are incredibly grateful to the Ohio Department of Health for their generous support of our new site of our primary care clinic, as their partnership helps us provide high-quality care to the residents in East Palestine,” Stephanie Conn, the president and CEO of East Liverpool City Hospital, said. “Our move to this new site reflects East Liverpool City Hospital’s unwavering commitment to being an active, visible part of the East Palestine community.”

Improvements to the facility, including an updated and remodeled building, have enabled the clinic to become a federally certified Rural Health Clinic.

RHCs are located in areas identified as having a shortage of personal health services and receive payments at a set rate.

The clinic will also offer expanded services, including an improved lab, adult and child vaccine services, and free sports physicals.

“We’re very pleased to support the continued evolution of this clinic, now a Rural Health Clinic that is providing residents of East Palestine and the surrounding region with important healthcare services,” Vanderhoff said. “It’s vital to have sufficient primary care providers in every community, and this clinic is helping fill that need.”

Federal lawmakers are considering the Railroad Safety Enhancement Act of 2026, cosponsored by U.S. Sens. Jon Husted, R-Ohio and Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio.

The legislation would require safety considerations, including the use of hotbox detectors, a 40 mph speed limit for trains carrying high-hazard materials, and a requirement that railroads provide first responders with real-time information. The Association of American Railroads has opposed the legislation.

East Palestine continues to deal with the aftermath of a Norfolk Southern freight train derailment in February 2023 that caused 38 railcars carrying hazardous chemicals, including vinyl chloride, butyl acrylate, ethylene glycol and benzene residue, to release their contents.

Emergency responders addressed the chemical spill from the derailment by conducting prolonged controlled burns, which resulted in several railcars burning for more than two days.

The University of California San Diego Golomb Research Group has created a symptom tracker to allow researchers to document and study health changes related to toxic exposure resulting from the derailment.

The research group is also conducting studies of volunteers who were residents of East Palestine, Columbiana County, or Beaver County at the time of the derailment that use optional blood tests, sample archiving and wristbands for toxin exposure assessments.

Residents have reported a series of chronic symptoms similar to those experienced by Gulf War veterans, including fatigue, headaches, joint pain, indigestion, insomnia, dizziness, respiratory disorders and memory problems, according to Ideastream Public Media.

Researchers plan to launch a trial to determine whether Coenzyme Q10 supplements, which have been used to treat Gulf War veterans, could be effective for these symptoms.

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences opened a research office in February to study the health effects of derailment.