Business

Healing Center planned for Marietta

McCarter Health Center of Parkersburg is preparing to open a facility in Marietta while expanding its services to the Mid-Ohio Valley.

Plans call for the new Gateway Healing Center to open on July 5 at 521 Fort St. adjacent to the Putnam Street Bridge on Marietta's west side, Harmar Village, said Dr. Heather McCarter, chiropractor and owner.

The open house will be 5-9 p.m.

The Fort Street building, constructed in 1896, is now finalizing renovations in anticipation of this First Friday, Independence Day weekend opening. The 5,500-square-foot building was last owned by Bill White, owner of OffWhite Marketing, and was a private residence before he purchased it in the 1980's.

The Gateway Healing Center will offer many of the services now provided at McCarter Health Center, 4315 Emerson Ave. in Parkersburg, including chiropractic, vibroacoustic (sound) therapy, massage therapy, functional nutrition counseling, vitamins and supplements, specialized lab testing, mold, heavy metal, chemical and parasite detoxification. The Marietta facility will also serve as an event center, hosting singer/songwriter series, yoga retreats, nutrition courses and other events.

McCarter and her staff are looking forward to sharing this historic building with the community. McCarter will continue to operate both facilities.

"We are excited to bring alternative health care services now provided in Parkersburg to Marietta," McCarter said. "This historic facility is one of a kind."

She is excited to be able to open this iconic property to the public for healing, personal growth, education, and community engagement.

Since Dr. Jerry McCarter opened the business in 1977, McCarter Health Center has evolved from offering only chiropractic services to the comprehensive wellness center it is today. Dr. Heather McCarter, Jerry's daughter, is responsible for expanding the focus of the business after taking ownership in 2011 and changing its name to McCarter Health Center. She added massage therapy in 2003, physical therapy and nutrition to the business in 2007, cold laser therapy in 2010, CBD in 2019, carbon detoxification in 2021, and vibroacoustic therapy in 2023.

Dr Heather McCarter is a 1991 Parkersburg High School alumni, a 1995 graduate of WVU, and a 1999 graduate of Palmer College of Chiropractic.

McCarter believes: "The power that made the body heals the body. By removing the cause of your condition (for example: pressure on a nerve, parasites, mold, heavy metals), we promote healing and wellness. Remove the toxin or interference, reverse the disease. We work with nutrition, the spine, the nervous system, energetic systems, and your metabolism in order to promote healing to its fullest potential."

McCarter recently added vibroacoustic therapy and carbon detoxification to her wellness center. She believes these services are unique to the Mid-Ohio Valley.

Vibroacoustic therapy uses vibrational sound beds with bio-harmonic frequencies to help a person relax, meditate, heal, and clear cellular memory.

"Sound and vibratory therapy works by traveling across your connective tissue and fascial planes into every cell for full body stimulation and healing."

Carbon detoxification uses binders and drivers that travel through the body to target chemical toxins, environmental toxins, mold, parasites, and heavy metals.

Also new at the Parkersburg McCarter Health Center facility is the baseball training program led by Dr. Darrin Marsh, a former baseball player at West Virginia Wesleyan College who played semi-pro baseball in the Penn-Mar League. Marsh, a physical therapist, teaches throwing, pitching and hitting in four- and eight-week programs to athletes 8 years old to college age. At the heart of the McCarter Wellness approach to baseball training is the evaluation process. Players are informed of proper and improper technique and advised on ways to improve technical flaws. Darrin's focus is on proper hitting and pitching techniques guided by years of experience and current research in the field of baseball performance as well as strength and conditioning.

Performance-based training is accomplished through fitness programs which revolve around the training of speed and strength. Marsh uses videotaping and computers to analyze and improve a person's baseball-playing abilities. At McCarter Health Center, baseball players can get the latest fitness programs to improve their performance.

According to Marsh, "Speed and strength are the most valuable assets for any athlete especially baseball players and the training of both needs to start early in athletic development."

McCarter Health Center has installed an outdoor batting cage at its Emerson Avenue facility for expansion of Marsh's baseball instruction.