Southeast Ohio and the Upper Ohio Valley: a YSU NP clinical guide
Southeast Ohio runs from Steubenville, the nearest southern city to Youngstown, down the Ohio River to Marietta and inland to Zanesville and Coshocton. Its hospital map is shifting: Trinity Health System is moving to UPMC, East Ohio Regional Hospital in Martins Ferry closed in 2025, and Cambridge's hospital joined OhioHealth. Memorial Health System in Marietta is the one system here that says it matches NP students with preceptors.
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Eleven counties along the river and in the hills
This guide covers Ohio's hospital preparedness Region 8: Muskingum, Coshocton, Guernsey, Perry, Morgan, Noble, Washington, Monroe, Belmont, Harrison and Jefferson counties. Muskingum (Zanesville) leads at 87,014 people, then Belmont (St. Clairsville, Martins Ferry, Bellaire) at 64,434, Jefferson (Steubenville, Toronto) at 63,597 and Washington (Marietta, Belpre) at 58,389.
Eight counties are nonmetro under USDA's 2023 codes, with Noble at code 9, the most rural. Belmont and Jefferson sit in small metro areas under 250,000 people. The drive from Youngstown runs roughly 65 miles to Steubenville and 160 to Marietta, though an online YSU student seldom makes it.
Memorial Health System in Marietta: matching, with long lead times
Memorial Health System runs Marietta Memorial Hospital and Selby General Hospital. According to its clinical student rotations page, NP students apply through its Graduate Medical Education department, and the rotation application is how Memorial matches each student with a specialty, setting and preceptor. The request to its student coordinator lists your school, rotation type, hours, dates and any placement confirmation you already hold.
General rotations need at least a month's notice. Pediatrics and OB/GYN run on a longer clock: Memorial recommends asking six months to a year ahead because availability is limited. Those are exactly the areas behind the 100 pediatric and 75 women's health hours YSU recommends for FNP students.
Memorial's six-to-twelve-month lead time for pediatrics and OB/GYN runs far ahead of YSU's two-month preceptor deadline. Put those requests in during your first term, then submit the preceptor to YSU on schedule.
Zanesville, Cambridge, Steubenville and the Belmont County gap
Genesis HealthCare System runs Genesis Hospital in Zanesville and Genesis Coshocton Medical Center, which opened in April 2023. Its public student pages cover only the student nurse intern program, so treat Genesis as a landmark and take any Genesis preceptor lead to your clinical faculty.
Cambridge's hospital, formerly Southeastern Ohio Regional Medical Center, became OhioHealth Southeastern Medical Center, OhioHealth's 13th full member hospital, on January 1, 2023. That brings it under OhioHealth's system-wide APP application, with fixed windows, a new application every semester and a stated halt on new affiliation agreements; the South Central Ohio guide lists the windows.
In Steubenville, Trinity Health System runs Trinity Medical Center West and East plus the Trinity St. Clairsville Neighborhood Hospital, with no NP student page. CommonSpirit and UPMC signed a definitive agreement in May 2026 to transfer Trinity to UPMC, and closing is expected in fall 2026.
Belmont County lost East Ohio Regional Hospital in Martins Ferry, which closed in March 2025 according to news reports, though federal listings still carry it. Barnesville Hospital and Harrison Community Hospital in Cadiz, both critical access hospitals, post no NP student pages.
Shortage counties and their health centers
HRSA's September 2026 files show a primary care shortage designation in all eleven counties. Noble's is geographic, covering everyone who lives there; the other ten cover a low-income or other population countywide. Morgan's 17 is the top primary care score.
HRSA also lists 52 active health center sites here, 22 school-based and five mobile, run by five organizations. For FNP primary care hours, they are the first place to look in most counties.
| County | 2025 population | Top primary care HPSA score | USDA 2023 code |
|---|---|---|---|
| Muskingum | 87,014 | 11 | 4, nonmetro |
| Belmont | 64,434 | 16 | 3, metro |
| Jefferson | 63,597 | 15 | 3, metro |
| Washington | 58,389 | 16 | 4, nonmetro |
| Guernsey | 38,379 | 13 | 6, nonmetro |
| Coshocton | 37,188 | 16 | 7, nonmetro |
| Perry | 35,918 | 16 | 1, metro |
| Noble | 14,276 | 11 | 9, nonmetro |
| Harrison | 14,070 | 15 | 8, nonmetro |
| Morgan | 13,626 | 17 | 8, nonmetro |
| Monroe | 12,994 | 14 | 8, nonmetro |
- Muskingum Valley Health Centers: 19 sites in Zanesville, Cambridge, Coshocton, McConnelsville and Malta
- Ohio Hills Health Services: 10 sites, including Barnesville, Bellaire, Caldwell, St. Clairsville and Woodsfield
- CHANGE Inc.: 9 sites in Steubenville, Toronto and Mingo Junction
- Hopewell Health Centers: 8 sites in Marietta, Belpre, New Lexington and nearby towns
- Southeast Inc.: 6 sites in Martins Ferry, St. Clairsville, Cadiz, Shadyside and Woodsfield
Planning practicums here, including across the river
Whatever the county, YSU leaves the first move to you: it highly encourages NP students to arrange their own preceptors, needs the details two months before each practicum and wants 90 days' notice if you are stuck, without promising a site nearby (finding your own preceptor).
FNP students in NURS 7061 to NURS 7065 can build adult hours at health centers in every county and request Memorial's pediatrics and OB/GYN early. AGACNP students in NURS 7071 to NURS 7075 need acute care; the larger hospitals are in Zanesville, Marietta, Cambridge and Steubenville, and YSU's list also counts standalone emergency departments and urgent care. If you work at Genesis or Memorial, a different unit, a different supervisor and unpaid time are the rule (workplace rules).
The river border widens the map. West Virginia and Pennsylvania are both states YSU accepts for its online graduate nursing programs, and both share the Nurse Licensure Compact with Ohio: West Virginia since 2018, Ohio since January 2023 and Pennsylvania since July 2025. West Virginia's larger systems include WVU Medicine and Vandalia Health, and UPMC anchors the Pittsburgh area. See the West Virginia and Pennsylvania guides.
Why YSU students in Southeast Ohio choose us
Searches here cross county lines and sometimes the river. Your placement advisor works the health centers, independent practices, hospitalist groups and urgent care sites nearest you in Ohio, West Virginia or Pennsylvania, tracks lead times like Memorial's, and sends each preceptor packet complete two months before the practicum for clinical faculty approval. The next preceptor is being lined up while the current practicum runs. Start your request.
Questions YSU students ask
Will Trinity Health System's move to UPMC affect a practicum in Steubenville?
It could. CommonSpirit and UPMC agreed in May 2026 to transfer Trinity's hospitals, with closing expected in fall 2026. If your practicum falls near the changeover, ask your clinical faculty which organization will hold the student agreement, and keep a backup preceptor in Jefferson County or across the river.
How early should I ask Memorial Health System for pediatric or OB/GYN hours?
Memorial recommends six months to a year ahead for pediatrics and OB/GYN because availability is limited, and at least a month for general rotations. Since YSU's recommended FNP mix includes 100 pediatric and 75 women's health hours, plan those requests when you start the program rather than when the practicum is two months away.
Is the Cambridge hospital part of OhioHealth now?
Yes. Southeastern Ohio Regional Medical Center became OhioHealth Southeastern Medical Center, a full OhioHealth member, on January 1, 2023. NP students go through OhioHealth's system-wide APP application in fixed windows each semester, and OhioHealth says it is not initiating new affiliation agreements, so ask your clinical faculty first.
I live in West Virginia near the river. Can my YSU practicum be in Belmont or Washington County?
Yes, provided you live and train in states YSU accepts, and West Virginia and Ohio both qualify. A West Virginia multistate RN license generally covers Ohio practice under the compact, but some Ohio systems ask for an Ohio license by name, so confirm with the site.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-26
We check these pages against YSU's own catalog, graduate handbook, online program pages and FAQ, and Ohio rules. Your clinical faculty, the Graduate Clinical Coordinator and your advisor have the final word.
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- Primary care preceptors for FNP practicums
NURS 7061toNURS 7065, acute care for AGACNPNURS 7071toNURS 7075 - Outside your own unit and away from your supervisor, in a state YSU accepts
- Across Ohio, from the Mahoning Valley to Cincinnati, and in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Michigan
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