WARREN, Ohio – Steward Health Care System’s sale of the transition services agreements for Insight Hospital and Medical Center Trumbull and Insight Rehabilitation Hospital Hillside have left both hospitals scrambling to find a solution to access patient records.

The sale, approved in U.S. Bankruptcy Court by Judge Christopher Lopez on Tuesday, gives control of the software systems, including patient records and billing, to a third-party company, Golden Sun TSA Services LLC, an affiliate of Quorum Health of Brentwood, Tenn.

Trumbull County Commissioner Dennis Malloy said he met with Insight CEO Dr. Jawad Shah on Tuesday. What Golden Sun TSA Services is requiring to access records is outlandish and outside Insight’s budget, he said.

“It’s outside anybody’s budget. It’s nearly ransom,” Malloy said.

The solution appears to be for Insight to transition to its own software and stop billing past patients, because it’s not getting money back from the third-party company, Malloy said. Court documents indicate Golden Sun TSA Services has assumed many of Steward’s debts.

After Insight’s own software is installed, the hospitals will begin to make certain it’s working well and then bring services back up a bit at a time, Malloy said.

“Basically, it’s kind of like starting from scratch for them locally, but it’s just what they have to do,” Malloy said, adding Insight has done a good job making a “nearly seamless transition” of the hospitals from Steward ownership since November. 

“Hopefully, [this is] just another bump in the road, and Insight has the right people to make this transition work for the future,” Malloy said.

The commissioner also indicated Insight has made “great strides” working with the landlord, Medical Properties Trust, so it can own the hospital buildings. 

The latest wrinkle by Steward, which filed bankruptcy May 6, 2024, was unforeseen. The situation has left patients and employees again wondering about the future of the Trumbull County hospitals.

In a news release, the Ohio Nurses Association indicated it is relieved to see Steward finally gone from the local community. The release chastised Steward’s executives for continuing to protect their own interests and failing to take responsibility for creating havoc and chaos for families in the Mahoning Valley.

“Our patients are the ones who suffer the most from this instability,” De Anna Fuchilla, chair of the Hillside Local Unit of the Ohio Nurses Association, AFT, said in the release. “Every day, we’re doing everything we can to make sure they get the care they need, but the uncertainty caused by Steward’s bankruptcy is creating fear and confusion. Our patients deserve better. They deserve stability, compassion, and a healthcare system that puts them first.”

Rick Lucas, president of the Ohio Nurses Association, added: “If what they’re doing isn’t illegal now, it should be. We need a policy change to protect the public from these types of predators.”

The ONA is calling on state lawmakers to stand with residents and take action.

“Enough is enough. It’s time for elected officials to create real, enforceable policies that protect patients and our communities from predatory corporations like Steward. No company should be allowed to raid healthcare systems, abandon their responsibilities, and leave patients and workers to pick up the pieces,” the ONA release reads. “Patient care dollars need to be spent on patient care – not on fleecing our community to buy yachts and toys for millionaires. Our communities are not ATMs for corporate greed. We won’t stand by while Steward’s failures continue to threaten lives in our community.”

During the county commissioners’ weekly meeting Wednesday morning, both Malloy and Commissioner Rick Hernandez urged patients not to panic. Hernandez said Mercy Health has reached out to commissioners and indicated that Mercy Health – St. Joseph Warren Hospital has capacity to handle excess patients at this time.

The Trumbull hospital’s emergency room and Hillside’s rehabilitation services remain open.

Pictured at top: Insight Hospital and Medical Center Trumbull in Warren.