Bernie Albertini Feels Ohio County Schools ‘Strong’ In Running For BOE
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WHEELING - Bernie Albertini - administrator and chief operating officer at East Ohio Regional Hospital - is a product of Ohio County Schools, and his hope is for the school system to stay strong in the future.
Albertini, 58, is a candidate for the Ohio County Board of Education on the May 14 election ballot, and he resides in the 2nd Magisterial District. The two other candidates in the race are Anne Hercules and Jessica Powers, both residents of the 1st Magisterial District.
Two candidates from among the three will be elected, with the top two vote-getters regardless of district earning the spots.
Albertini noted there are multiple reasons why he wanted to join the race. Recently his daughter Taylor gave birth to twins, making him a grandfather for the first time.
"I always hear people talk about the world today and say how horrible it is," Albertini said. "I always think If they don't like it, they should do something about it."
Albertini believes Ohio County schools to be "fantastic." He isn't as interested in changing the school system as he is making certain it continues to produce quality students into the future.
Albertini graduated from WPHS in 1983, and said he was well-prepared by the school system for college and a pathway toward a career in health care at West Virginia University.
"I had organic chemistry and physics while I was in high school, and was well on my way to a pharmacy degree. It got me so far ahead," he said.
Albertini's wife Carla is also a WPHS alumnus.
He reports that years later when their own daughters Taylor and Robin were ready to graduate from WPHS, they both had earned enough advanced placement credits to enter college as sophomores.
"We have a very strong school system," Albertini said. "I want to see us continue to support academics, support our career and technical education, and support our sports and extracurricular activities. There are so many good things going on. I don't think anything majorly needs changed. We just need to continue our strong presence."
Albertini achieved an undergraduate degree from WVU in pre-pharmacy before getting his pharmacy degree from Ohio Northern University in 1989. He holds an MBA from William Howard Taft University, and is certified as a hospital administrator.
Albertini worked at Wheeling Hospital for nine years before moving on to East Ohio Regional Hospital and the former Ohio Valley Medical Center to become their director of pharmacy. He would later become administrator for both hospitals, and then just for OVMC for a year while it was owned by Alecto.
It was during that time that Albertini moved on to take a job as hospital administrator in Sierra Vista, Arizona. He said he could see the wall between the U.S. and Mexico from his office window.
Albertini "didn't love the town," so I decided to move back to the Ohio Valley during COVID.
Not long after, Dr. John Johnson hired him to reopen the closed EORH. Albertini now oversees a hospital with more than 500 employees, and he understands the complexities of operating a school district.
"I've sat on boards. I know how it works," he said. "The board of education needs to be a sounding board."