The new West Virginia University Health System signage in and around Butler Memorial Hospital are the first of many changes patients can expect to see as it takes over Independence Health System.

WVU Medicine held picnics for employees Monday at BMH and the four other former Independence hospitals to celebrate their transition to new ownership. WVU Medicine announced its acquisition of the system on Thursday of last week.

Except for the signage, most of the $800 million in upgrades WVU Medicine is planning for its five newest hospitals won’t be immediately visible. That investment includes $520 million in strategic capital improvements, $200 million is routine capital projects and $80 million for to install WVU’s Epic Systems healthcare records system.

At Monday’s employee picnic at BMH, Nick Barcellona, WVU Medicine chief financial officer, said the routine capital projects, such as lighting and elevator improvements, will be identified by the end of the year, while plans for $520 million in strategic capital are being developed.

Strategic capital spending will notably include upgrading the emergency and outpatient services departments, recruiting physicians and establishing new programs with those physicians, Barcellona said.

He said he expects plans for the emergency department to be announced in April.

“What we want to do is make sure we build it right,” Barcellona said.

BMH has a great plant and campus with high-end physicians and equipment to build upon, he said.

While those plans are being developed, WVU will begin a “gap analysis” to determine why patients may have left BMH in the past and where they have gone for healthcare, said Doug Harrison, president of WVU’s eight-hospital northern region and president of WVU’s Wheeling Hospital in West Virginia.

He said upgrading the emergency department is the foundation of rebuilding trust with the community.

Harrison sees WVU as a “national leader” in rural healthcare delivery

“We have a proven track record,” he said.

The new plans for a health records system will include having patients access the MyChart app, which allows patients, doctors and staff to access information about billing, medical appointments, charts and medications.

“Everything will be on MyChart,” Harrison said.

“From a patient’s prospective, life will get easier,” Barcellona said about the app.

Epic is WVU’s first major investment and installation is underway, he said.

At the picnic on Wednesday, the leaders — alongside Matt Schnur, president and CEO of BMH and Clarion Hospital — indicated WVU Medicine has the largest number of da Vinci 5, or dV5, surgical robots in the country and plans to use them at BMH.

Physicians control the robots as they perform surgeries, Barcellona said. It allows movements to be more precise when it comes to surgeries, he continued.

Schnur said BMH currently uses older versions of the da Vinci robots.

Staff at BMH and the other former Independence hospitals will receive an enhanced benefits platform under WVU Medicine, Harrison said.

Peak Health insurance, provided by WVU Medicine, is among the benefits that will be offered to employees. Barcellona said 85,000 to 100,000 people have insurance through Peak.

Free tuition at WVU for employees is also among the new benefits.

Barcellona said WVU may streamline “some efficiencies,” but continued to say that, “from a caregivers’ perspective, our goal is to grow.”

Harrison noted the significance of the hospital to the community, expressing a desire to build up Butler.

“We know the economic impact that these hospitals have on the community and our job is to grow that impact,” Harrison said. “And so, you’ll see a more robust workforce as we continue to build programs and services. Everywhere we’ve been, we’ve been able to grow the workforce.”