Nurses Union Calls on DeWine, Yost to ‘Act Now’ to Save Hospitals

WARREN, Ohio – The Ohio Nurses Association questioned the lack of action by Gov. Mike DeWine and Attorney General Dave Yost and is seeking their help to prevent the closure of the two Steward Health Care System hospitals in Trumbull County.

Steward, which owns Trumbull Regional Medical Center in Warren and Hillside Rehabilitation Hospital in Howland, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy May 6. 

The two local hospitals, as well as satellite medical facilities, are slated to close on or before Sept. 20, according to filings by Steward in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Houston. Objections to the closures have been filed locally.

Rick Lucas, president and executive director of the nurses union, sent a letter to DeWine and Yost, calling on them to “act now or stand by as our healthcare infrastructure crumbles.”

ONA represents registered nurses at Hillside.

“We need Governor DeWine and Attorney General Yost to stop sitting on the sidelines and do whatever they can to ensure these hospitals don’t close,” Lucas wrote in the letter. “Losing critical access to local healthcare would be a catastrophe that could make the difference between life and death.”

According to the letter, ONA representatives met with a staff member from DeWine’s office May 16 and Yost’s team June 24, laying out plans and strategies to prevent the closure of the hospitals.

The letter compares the Ohio officials’ inaction with those of Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healy, who has been working to save hospitals in her state. “Her administration has committed $30 million in emergency funds to keep hospitals open, invoked eminent domain to seize control of facilities, and facilitated connections with new operators,” the letter states.

Local leadership and the Warren City Hospital Inc. Group have been raising funds through the Trumbull County United Way to purchase and operate the local hospitals. Up to $3 million was pledged by the Trumbull County commissioners, and another $3 million by the city of Warren. The city would lose between $1.4 million and $1.5 million per year in income tax if the hospitals close.

Here’s the full letter that was sent to DeWine and Yost:

Dear Governor DeWine and Attorney General Yost,

Ohioans are being abandoned. The impending closures of Hillside Rehabilitation Hospital and Trumbull Memorial Hospital are nothing short of a catastrophe for the Mahoning Valley, and the state’s silence is deafening. While local leaders scramble to save these critical institutions, the DeWine administration and Attorney General Yost have stood by, watching this crisis unfold without lifting a finger.

Let’s be clear—this didn’t have to happen, and it’s not too late to act, but time is running out.

The Ohio Nurses Association (ONA) has been sounding the alarm for months, yet our calls for help have been ignored. On May 16th, we met with a staff member from Governor DeWine’s office and laid out concrete action steps to prevent this disaster and met again with the Attorney General’s team on June 24th. Despite these meetings and detailed recommendations, nothing was done.

Meanwhile, the Ohio Nurses Association, which represents 22 nurses at Hillside, was blindsided by the closure announcement. Let’s call this what it is: pure, unchecked greed from Steward Health executives and their private equity backers. They prioritized their yachts and private jets over patient care, and now our nurses are being thrown into unemployment while the community is left without vital rehabilitation services. This is not an isolated problem—it is a direct result of the corporate greed that your administration has failed to address.

It’s embarrassing that in a state as well-resourced as Ohio, local leaders and healthcare workers are resorting to crowdfunding through the United Way to raise the millions needed to save these hospitals. Meanwhile, where are you? Where is the leadership Ohio deserves?

Governor DeWine, your dismissive comment about “another hospital down the street” shows just how disconnected you are from reality on the ground. People are going to die if these hospitals close. Cardiologist Dr. Larry Woods said it best: “People will die if we can’t get this through.” This isn’t a hypothetical—it’s a cold, hard, fact.

U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown is fighting for us. He’s calling on federal agencies to hold Steward accountable, and local leaders like Warren Mayor Doug Franklin are pulling together plans to save these hospitals. Yet, they’re waiting on the state for support. Why are you not acting with the same urgency?

Look at Massachusetts, where Governor Maura Healey is using every tool at her disposal to save hospitals in her state from Steward’s destructive practices. Her administration has committed $30 million in emergency funds to keep hospitals open, invoked eminent domain to seize control of facilities, and facilitated connections with new operators. This is what leadership looks like. Ohio deserves the same.

Here’s what you can do—right now—if you’re serious about protecting Ohioans:

1. Issue an Executive Order to halt the closures temporarily, giving local leaders time to finalize a plan to keep these hospitals open.
2. Investigate Steward Health: Launch an immediate investigation into Steward’s handling of Medicaid funds, COVID relief funds, and potential fraud. Ohioans deserve to know if public money was misused.
3. Allocate Emergency Funding through the Ohio Department of Health to ensure these hospitals can continue to operate while a buyer is secured.
4. Support Local Eminent Domain Efforts: Publicly back local leaders in Warren who are proposing using eminent domain to keep Hillside Rehabilitation and Trumbull Memorial hospitals operational.
5. Facilitate Buyer Connections: Use state resources to help connect potential buyers with these hospitals and ensure that whoever takes over is committed to maintaining services and protecting jobs.

Governor DeWine, Attorney General Yost—Ohio’s healthcare system is on life support, and you have the power to save it. But Ohioans are watching, and they will not forget this moment. You can choose to act now or stand by as our healthcare infrastructure crumbles. The choice is yours, but time is running out.

Ohio deserves leadership that prioritizes people over profits, and patients over private equity. It’s time to step up and prove that you’re the leaders this state needs.

Sincerely,

Rick Lucas, RN BSN CCRN
President & Executive Director
Ohio Nurses Association

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