WARREN, Ohio – Insight Health System officials and local leaders Tuesday celebrated the successful transition and future of two local hospitals and urged the community not to give up hope on a third.
Insight hosted an event at the former Trumbull Regional Medical Center to introduce itself to the community and to talk about plans for the Warren hospital, as well as the former Hillside Rehabilitation Hospital in Howland.
Insight acquired the two Trumbull County hospitals during Steward Health Care System’s bankruptcy and renamed them Insight Hospital & Medical Center Trumbull and Insight Rehabilitation Hospital Hillside. Both are nonprofit hospitals now.
Dr. Jawad Shah, founder and CEO of Insight who recently performed the first neurosurgery in Trumbull County in more than 15 years, said he arrived to find a hospital with top professionals, both physicians and nurses, a caring staff and a community committed to keeping its medical facilities open. Since Insight took control, the staff levels have stabilized, and supplies are again in ready supply, he said.
“I think this is a community, what I’ve realized, they really care about this hospital, not only the care that happens here, but even just the institution and its history,” Shah said, calling it very unique and special. “I’ve seen that in the nurses. I’ve seen that in the physicians. I’ve seen that in the general staff and in the elected officials. It’s very, very refreshing and exciting for me to see that and feel that.”
While the hospital still has financial and regulatory hurdles to cross, Shah believes making the hospital a nonprofit is a good first step toward a full recovery from Steward’s bankruptcy.
There are plans to continue the surgical residency program at the hospital, which was recently honored as one of the top five programs in the country. The cardiac services department will be expanded. A gift shop space is being converted into a retail pharmacy for patients and the community.
Shah said there are also plans to open a neuroscience center in January, and a new pain management clinic will be opened on Elm Road in January as well.
But while Shah and others in the community were celebrating the successful changes and a bright future for the Trumbull hospitals, they know another Steward-owned hospital just across the state line, in Sharon, Pa., is still facing the threat of closure, just as the two Trumbull hospitals were a few months ago.
Shah said he visited Sharon Regional Medical Center on Tuesday morning and saw a community “hurting.” He said he would not “rule out” helping Sharon if Insight is needed.
“I don’t feel comfortable walking away from [the Sharon hospital] but, at the same time, I understand there is leadership, management in place. There’s other elements in the community that I don’t want to get in the middle of where perhaps there is a better solution than us. But if we’re needed and if we’re in position to help them, then we would definitely help.”
A deal for Meadville Medical Center to operate Sharon Regional Hospital fell through over the weekend due to a lack of financial support. A hospital closure notice was issued Monday. According to documents filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Houston, any objections must be filed within three days of the closure notice.
“I reached out to them and I said, “You know what, please hang in there. Good things could come,’” said Cindy Russo, president of Insight Hospital & Medical Center Trumbull, noting it is bittersweet to celebrate when the Sharon community is hurting.
For Russo, who started her career as a registered nurse, the worst day of her career, she said, was when she announced to the employees just a few months ago that the Warren hospital was closing.
“I did not get into nursing to diminish care,” Russo said. “I got into it to open access to care. So now that we’re here and doing that, it’s amazing.”
Warren Mayor Doug Franklin, Eddie Colbert, director of public safety and service, and Trumbull County Commissioner Denny Malloy were all on hand for the celebration in the lobby at the Warren hospital Tuesday.
“We’re delighted that Trumbull/Hillside will continue to provide a high level of care for our community,” Franklin said, adding the city looks forward to continuing to work with Insight’s facilities and the people who make a difference for the community by working at the hospitals everyday. “We look forward to the new services, the new technology that Insight has planned for our community to bring to this facility.”
Malloy talked about many of the efforts that the community went through to save the hospital, which he said is so much a part of the Warren and Trumbull County story and its economic future. Malloy said he met a lot of people who have worked at the hospital, not just physicians and nurses, but also those who have been part of the operations for decades, because they want to serve their community.
“Fortunately, the Insight group came in, and they were the prayer that was out there. We did not know about them in particular, but they checked every box that we needed and they answered the prayers that we had,” Malloy said.
Guy Coviello, president and CEO of the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber, recognized the efforts of Franklin and Malloy, as well as Russo, who he noted is not originally from the area and could have abandoned them when the spiraling situation happened over the past few years.
Russo said this is where she calls home now, and it was the commitment of everyone in the community, including businesses and everyone affiliated with the hospital, that made sure the closures didn’t happen.
Jamie Gunia, Hillside’s new chief administrative officer, said the Howland facility is open and ready to serve the community as it has for the past 62 years.
“It’s only going to get better, and I feel like there’s going to be things being brought to the community that we haven’t seen to help serve the community needs,” Gunia said. “So we’re excited about the future with Insight.”
Pictured at top: Dr. Jawad Shah, founder and CEO of Insight Health System.