Nearly surrounded by state and national parks, including the New River Gorge National River, the city of Beckley is nestled in a beautiful mountain setting.

The Hospital
Raleigh General Hospital, southern West Virginia's leading medical center, has served the city of Beckley and surrounding counties since 1921.The hospital offers a full range of services, including Trauma, OB, Advanced Imaging Services, Lithotripsy, Cardiac Catheterization, Oncology, Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation. Each year, the hospital admits 12,000 patients, delivers 1,650 babies and treats nearly 50,000 people in its Emergency Department. Approximately 6,000 inpatient surgeries, 7,300 outpatient surgeries and 6,000 endoscopies are performed annually.

Other services include a Comprehensive Community Education Program, Partners in Education, Senior Friends Program, Health Focus Seminars, Life Skills (Diabetes) Support Groups, Childbirth Classes, Best Baby Sitter Workshop, Day One Pediatrics and a Speaker's Bureau Program.

The Community
Beckley is the largest city in southern West Virginia. Interstates I-77 and I-64 converge at Beckley with the U.S. Route 19 (US-19) expressway also serving the area.

Beckley is located approximately 25 miles south of Fayetteville, WV, 50 miles west of Lewisburg, WV, 50 miles north of Bluefield, WV, and 55 miles southeast of Charleston, WV. Beckley-Raleigh County is the hub for retail facilities, financial resources, and medical services for southern West Virginia, serving a market area of seven counties. Tamarack, the state's premier showcase for fine arts, handcrafts, and Appalachian cuisine, is located in Beckley. The Appalachian Festival is a four-day citywide celebration that takes place during the third week of August each year. The Cliffside Amphitheater at Grandview has produced two of the world's most captivating outdoor dramas for more than 40 years: Honey in the Rock, the nation's oldest Civil War Drama, and the Hatfields and McCoys.

Recreation
Wild, wonderful West Virginia is a paradise for the outdoor enthusiast. Thousands of tourists visit southern West Virginia each year to challenge the whitewater of the New, Gauley, and Greenbrier Rivers. Twenty-two guide companies operate on the rivers. New River Gorge, the state's most popular outdoor recreation destination, is located just minutes from Beckley. It features the New River Gorge Bridge (to the right), the world's longest single arch steel span bridge and the second highest bridge in the United States. This part of West Virginia is a skier's wonderland. Winterplace Ski Resort, for example, features 27 trails. Rock climbing on the monolithic cliffs that line the edges of the New River Gorge is also popular. For golfers, there are 17 courses within an hour's drive, including three at the world-famous Greenbrier. Hunting is a way of life here: black bear, turkey, whitetail deer, squirrel, grouse, bobwhite, cottontail rabbit, mink, fisher, beaver, bobcat, woodchuck, weasel, and red and grey fox. You can also fish for trout, bass, bluegill, muskie, catfish, and walleye. There are hundreds of wooded trails for the hiker, and one of the largest limestone regions in the east attracts caving enthusiasts from across the country.