SHARON, Pa. – Sharon Regional Medical Center now has a new name – Sharon Regional Health System.
The hospital’s new name was unveiled Thursday during a celebration of its reopening by Tenor Health Foundation.
Joined by a large number of hospital staff, state Sen. Michele Brooks and Radha Savitala, founder of Tenor Health Partners, cut a ribbon in front of the hospital’s emergency room.
That was followed by the announcement of the new name and logo.
“The community is just thrilled that we have reopened, and I think the trust is being rebuilt,” Savitala said. “We talk to the patients. Our staff’s happy. Our physicians are happy. And, most importantly, patients are happy.
She pointed to a letter from a patient that Val Hennessy, chief clinical officer, read from when the ribbon was cut. The recently admitted patient said how great her experience was. She said the hospital and the staff had a “joyous empathy.”
In addition to the ribbon cutting, Savitala said an outpatient lab at another location reopened Thursday.
“Good things are happening on a daily basis,” Savitala said, including the ICU area relocated due to restoration efforts returning to its normal place in the hospital and freeing up more beds that can be opened as they are deemed necessary. The hospital is offering teleneuro services.
Preparation is underway for many capital improvements for the Sharon hospital, including a new roof and a catheterization lab with new equipment. Brooks said there are $4 million in improvements being made.
“It’s a new chapter, a new beginning,” said Brooks, adding that the new name and logo honors the hospital’s past and celebrates its future.
Sharon Regional closed Jan. 6, a casualty of the Steward Health Care System bankruptcy. Tenor acquired the hospital but had to wait more than two months to reopen it as it sought proper licensing and permits through the commonwealth.
Brooks said it has been a long journey, which included the Pennsylvania governor’s office and the attorney general’s office. She heard daily stories about the impact to families throughout Mercer County and the surrounding areas when the closure happened. She said she knew how much the hospital was needed.
“I continue to mention how grateful I am for the staff that stayed with the hospital during these very challenging times,” Brooks said. “Without the staff staying here, this hospital would not have been able to reopen. So I am just so eternally grateful for the staff and what they’re doing.”
Pictured at top: Radha Savitala, founder of Tenor Health Partners, and state Sen. Michele Brooks.