Chamber Leaders Optimistic about Future of Local Hospitals
WARREN, Ohio – Chamber officials on both sides of the state line are optimistic following announcements in the past two days of agreements that will lead to local hospitals owned by Steward Health Care System remaining open.
Both the agreement involving the two Trumbull County hospitals and the deal to save Sharon Regional Medical Center in Sharon, Pa., were detailed before U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Christopher Lopez, who signed off on a general interim agreement Wednesday. The agreement is slated to come before him for final approval Sept. 17.
“We are happy that the city’s income tax base appears that it is going to be protected, and we have a property in the heart of the city that will not fall into blight,” said Guy Coviello, Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber president and CEO.
The city of Warren would have lost $1.5 million in income taxes annually if the Trumbull hospitals closed.
Wednesday’s U.S. Bankruptcy Court hearing detailed an agreement between Steward, Medical Properties Trust, which owns the hospital properties, and many of the lenders. The agreement will bring interim managers and teams from Insight Health System of Flint, Mich., to help Steward operate both Trumbull Regional Medical Center in Warren and Hillside Rehabilitation Hospital in Howland.
Insight Foundation of Hillside will be the interim manager of the Hillside hospital, and Insight Foundation of Trumbull will serve as the interim manager of Trumbull Regional.
“I look forward to welcoming this company to the community,” Coviello said, adding he had heard they had representatives in town over the prior weekend, but he had not personally met them yet. “I’m excited to learn more about the company and about their plans for Trumbull County.”
During Wednesday’s hearing, it was noted by Steward’s attorney that the interim managers and their teams were already in many of the hospitals – including in Arizona, Texas, Florida and Louisiana – starting to get acclimated in anticipation of the interim agreement being completed.
Instead of being slated to close Sept. 20, the goal is for the hospitals to be transitioned to new ownership.
Sharon Regional Medical Center is slated for purchase by Meadville Medical Center in Meadville, Pa., and the commonwealth of Pennsylvania will pay $1.5 million per month for the next three months, with the transition to be completed Dec. 1. Medical Properties Trust reportedly continues to negotiate with Meadville Medical.
“I’m very happy for Sharon because that’s where there could have been a health care desert,” Coviello said, adding that in the Youngstown-Warren region there are more health care providers, which made the situation not as dire.
Jim Bombeck, executive director of the Shenango Valley Chamber of Commerce, said it was “essential we continue to have two hospitals.”
“We are excited about Sharon General, as we used to call it, staying, being vibrant and growing,” Bombeck said, adding the hospital has about 750 employees who are connected to about 750 families in the region. He has been watching the situation closely.
“This is certainly a step in the right direction,” Bombeck said.
The three local hospitals combined employ about 1,600.
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