Lawrence County and Ironton continue to recover from the wound caused when River Valley Hospital closed its doors more than eight years ago.

But now that healing process has taken another solid step forward as the facility has been completely demolished and the property is on the verge of being redeveloped into housing.

While there remains a few hurdles to seeing this project come to fruition, we applaud the Ironton Port Authority and the Ironton Lawrence County Community Action for their parts in getting the property returned to a viable use.

Many residents have remained bitter about the fact that hospital administration was allowed to essentially run the facility into the ground and also that Our Lady of Bellefonte Hospital never reopened the facility as officials said it would.

But that ship has long since sailed, and residents must look toward the future rather than backward at what could have been or might have happened.

After it closed, the reality is that this facility was never going to be used as a hospital again. It is also a fact that Ironton lacks middle-class housing or vacant property to build on.

These 22 lots could be developed into prime residential locations that could attract people to move to or stay in Ironton.

The fact that the IPA is creating guidelines for the type of homes to be built, but staying out of the actual contracting decisions, is a positive move that will ensure these houses fit within the neighborhood but also prevents the likelihood of any sort of corruption.

Some wounds will always leave scars but they can also open the door to a better, brighter future.