SHARON, Pa. – With Sharon Regional Medical Center facing a Monday closure deadline, very little was being said Friday by those involved in the situation.
The governor’s office released a statement indicating Gov. Josh Shapiro remains involved.
“The Shapiro Administration is working closely with the Office of Attorney General and health care stakeholders to preserve access to essential services in Mercer County and protect the dedicated workforce at Sharon Regional Medical Center,” the statement reads. “The Pennsylvania Department of Health is closely monitoring the situation to ensure patient safety.”
A spokesman for the attorney general’s office said Thursday that a hearing scheduled for Friday in Mercer County Court regarding a challenge to the rightful ownership of the hospital property had been continued. According to the clerk’s office in Mercer County, the hearing set before Common Pleas Court Judge Tedd C. Nesbit has been rescheduled for Jan. 28.
Steward Health Care System, which filed bankruptcy in May, announced in December that it planned to close the Sharon hospital Jan. 6 after Meadville Medical Center said it would not purchase the hospital due to inadequate funding.
A rally was held Thursday night in front of the hospital, which reportedly is no longer admitting patients, although the emergency room remains open.
As of 4:30 p.m. Friday, no objection that would stop the closure had been filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
Messages to hospital landlord Medical Properties Trust and Tenor Health Partners, the company reportedly working on a deal with MPT to take over operations of the hospital, were not returned Thursday or Friday.