SHARON, Pa. – Several limited objections and concerns about the pending closure of Sharon Regional Medical Center were filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Houston on Thursday.

The commonwealth of Pennsylvania filed a limited objection through the office of Attorney General Michelle Henry, which notes Pennsylvania and others have funded $4.5 million to keep the hospital open over the past few months and paid for more than $600,000 in emergency repairs.

The commonwealth is objecting to Steward Health Care System’s closure plan, filed Dec. 16, which it believes does not adequately address patient placement and transfer plans leading up to the closure, as well as having an advanced life support ambulance outside the emergency department before and after the proposed closure.

Secondly, Pennsylvania law requires a satisfactory malpractice insurance policy be obtained for throughout the closure, but it has not. Also, the commonwealth is concerned about a third-party inspection of underground storage tanks that is past due to be done, as well as the emptying of the tanks to place them out of service in the event of a closure.

The commonwealth also is concerned about the long-term plan for medical record retention so patients can obtain them in the future.

Suzanne Koenig, the ombudsman who has been overseeing several hospitals to ensure patient safety during Steward’s bankruptcy, also filed a response to the potential closure. In it, she raised several concerns.

“SRMC’s closure is devastating to the community and the patients who rely on this hospital,” Koenig wrote, listing the number of beds, staff and patients who use the hospital for care. She went on to list the key services provided by the Sharon hospital and the distance patients will have to travel to find similar care.

Koenig asks for the parties to reconsider working together to find another solution to keep the hospital open, or at least for the closure date to be extended.

“Closing SRMC in only 21 days from the date the closure notice was filed, particularly when that period falls over the holiday season, leaves patients with little notice and time to find alternative healthcare providers,” Koenig said.

Other Objections

Earlier Thursday, two other objections were filed regarding the planned closure of the hospital, but neither one objects to the hospital’s closure.

Both United Health Care and Edwards Lifesciences LLC filed limited objections that could delay the shutdown date.

According to court documents, any objections had to be filed within three days of the closure notice.

United Health Care’s filing Thursday is seeking only to slow the closure, claiming by contract it must provide its insured member clients 30-day notices of changes to their benefits, including those covered under Medicaid and Medicare. 

The Sharon hospital is part of United’s network of providers, and its closure would cause changes to the benefits of insured members and billing eligibility complications. The insurer estimates more than 2,500 United Health members are covered under plans that would be affected by the proposed closure, court documents say.

United Health Care is asking for the closure to be no earlier than 40 days after it receives written notice of the closure date, which would give it time to issue a 30-day notice to insured members.

Additionally, United Health Care said Pennsylvania law requires a hospital to give written notice of its intent to close to the Pennsylvania Department of Health and Social Services no later than 90 days before the planned closing.

Meanwhile, Edwards Lifesciences, which provides – on consignment – heart valves for transcatheter aortic valve replacements, contends that the Sharon hospital has inventory belonging to the medical equipment supplier, which it doesn’t intend to abandon.

Edwards Lifesciences said it has attempted to work with Steward to remove the equipment, for which it has not been paid.

Meadville Medical Center

The Christian H. Buhl Legacy Trust and the commonwealth of Pennsylvania agreed earlier that they would not object to the closure notice if they failed to negotiate a deal that would have placed Meadville Medical Center in charge of the hospital.

Meadville Medical Center had been working to acquire the Sharon hospital, but it announced Monday that it would not purchase it, saying inadequate funding to financially stabilize the hospital for the long-term was unable to be secured.

An attorney for Meadville Medical Center issued a statement Friday morning clarifying its version of interactions with Buhl Regional Health Foundation as it sought to take over operations of the hospital.

Meadville Medical states that a letter sent to Angela Palumbo, board chair of the Buhl Regional Health Foundation, on April 22 requested a $5 million grant to develop primary care resources over a two-year period; a $10 million grant to be used over a two-year period for essential clinical, informatics and physical plant-related capital improvements; and a $30 million line of credit for operational needs to stabilize the hospital.

Meadville Medical said it received only a two-sentence response May 15, thanking it for its correspondence and stating that Buhl Regional Health Foundation was not in a position to vote on any proposals at the time.

In early July, MMC reportedly asked for a meeting with the full Buhl board to discuss the proposal further, but no meeting was scheduled.

On Dec. 12, Gov. Josh Shapiro’s office requested a meeting with the Buhl leadership, and during a one hour presentation detailing independent financial projections with a seven-year operational cashflow analysis, a request was made to grant $25 million to Meadville Medical, as well as the $30 million line of credit.

Only an $11 million line of credit was offered.

“[Buhl Regional Health Foundation’s] inadequate funding commitment made it impossible for MMC to proceed and take the necessary steps to attempt to save [Sharon Regional Medical Center],” the statement from Meadville Medical reads. “MMC shares the disappointment of the entire Sharon community that sufficient funds were not committed to allow MMC to work with [Sharon Regional President] Bob Rogalski and all of SRMC’s wonderful doctors, nurses and support staff to save and rejuvenate SRMC.”

WARN notices have been issued, affecting 149 professional staff members and 699 listed as line staff members at the hospital.

Separately, a hearing that was scheduled for Thursday morning in Mercer County Common Pleas Court was postponed until Jan. 3. At issue is the validity of the real estate title for the properties where Sharon Regional Medical Center operates.