WARREN, Ohio – Trumbull County Commissioner Tony Bernard said no one at Insight Health Systems contacted county officials to alert them before pausing services and closing the doors at its two local hospitals last week. 

During a commissioners workshop Tuesday, Bernard said county officials tried unsuccessfully Friday to reach Insight representatives regarding the situation at Insight Hospital & Medical Center Trumbull in Warren and Insight Rehabilitation Hospital Hillside in Howland.

Alexandra DeVengencie-Bush, county HR director, said the loss of health services at the hospitals is “a big deal.” From the 35 dedicated mental health beds on one floor at the Warren hospital to the rehabilitation services at Hillside that allowed one of her family members to fully recover, DeVengencie-Bush said the magnitude of the loss of the services is detrimental to the community and the local economy.

Responding to criticism of the lack of government response, Commissioner Rick Hernandez said he has reached out to the governor’s office and state legislators and they are aware. He is concerned for employees, medical residents and medical assistant residents.

“It’s a dirty thing, very dirty what happened,” Hernandez said. “We are doing what we can do. However, our hands are tied. … It was spur of the moment. It happened so quickly. At least with Steward you had an understanding that things were going to happen. But this, it was so abrupt that there was nothing that [could be done], even at a state level.”

Steward Health Care System, which previously owned and operated the Warren and Howland hospitals, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May 2024. Insight Health acquired the hospitals in October.

Commissioner Dennis Malloy said commissioners are doing all they can legally and are working to improve the lines of communication between ASFCME union officials and the hospital administration.

“This isn’t our show. This is something Insight has to work out with the federal bankruptcy court,” Malloy said, adding he hopes the company can push to get a court date set as soon as possible.

Judge Christopher Lopez of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Houston has presided over the Steward bankruptcy case. Lopez signed off on the sale of Steward’s 31 hospitals, including the local hospitals to Insight. Additionally, the judge signed off on the sale by Steward to Golden Sun TSA Services LLC of the transition services agreement for several of the hospitals, which controlled the billing and patient records.

Insight has claimed that Steward has been withholding assets for services rendered by the hospital. However, Insight has not filed an objection in court.

Bernard agreed that the judge should be the one to fix the situation.

Malloy asked for county agencies and others in the community to be mindful that nearly 800 employees are affected by the doors closing at the hospitals and lack of paychecks being issued.

“These are people in our community who are suffering right now,” Malloy said. “If you’re a landlord and you’ve got a tenant who worked at the hospital and they’re going to be late on rent, or if you’re a car dealer with a loan or a banker, just be sympathetic that this is something we’re going to struggle and fight through as a community.”

Malloy pointed out there were job fairs in the community, and he hopes that those who can’t wait to see what happens with Insight and the hospitals find positions that allow them to move on. As of Tuesday afternoon, employees still had not received their latest paychecks, which were scheduled to be issued Friday.

“It’s a bad, bad deal. The Steward group should have never been here in the first place, and we’re still living this nightmare that is caused by this,” Malloy said.

Employees are being asked to attend a Rapid Response Event on Friday, where DeVengencie-Bush said they will be given information on how to obtain assistance. She reminded employees that the county doesn’t offer unemployment, and it must be obtained through the OhioMeansJobs center.

What Happened to the Money?

Before Insight stepped in to acquire the hospitals, a nonprofit group, Warren City Hospital, asked county commissioners, the city of Warren and others for money as it attempted to raise $30 million to save the former Trumbull Regional Medical Center and Hillside Rehabilitation Hospital.

During meetings at that time, both the county commissioners and City Council agreed to give up to $3 million each to the group, which, according to its website, was working with the Western Reserve Health Education organization to raise money to buy the hospitals.

According to Malloy, because Insight stepped in to operate the hospitals and not the Warren City Hospital group, neither the money from the county nor the city was issued, so there is no money to recoup.

Many in the community made donations through the United Way of Trumbull County. Lori Shandor, vice president and deputy CEO of the organization, said it collected about $325,000 in donations. However, $300,000 of that came from AFSCME, which is the union representing many of the employees at the hospitals. Once Insight was chosen as the operator, the $300,000 was returned to the union, Shandor said.

The other $25,000 came from numerous sources. A small amount of the money was given to Insight and community groups to help with an appreciation luncheon for the staff.

“[It was] just to thank them for their dedication and for continuing to serve the community through all the uncertainty and turmoil,” Shandor said.

For what remains of the $25,000 in donations, Shandor said those who contributed have options: Donors can allow the United Way of Trumbull County to use the money for assistance programs for the local community; the money can be designated to a local 501(c)(3) charity; or donations can be refunded.

“We want to make sure that the funds that were given get used for what the donor wanted it to be used for,” Shandor said.

“We were extremely happy to play a role in all of this, and we are feeling the stress like everybody else in Trumbull County is feeling the stress,” Shandor said. “We were happy to play a role and do our part early in this process, and we will continue to do so as we move forward and navigate this uncertainty.”

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