Two Ohio hospitals have closed temporarily, and it’s not clear when they’ll reopen

Six months after two Ohio hospitals appeared to be saved from closure, they have shut their doors again.

Insight Hospital and Medical Center Trumbull and Insight Rehabilitation Hospital Hillside. Insight Health System, which acquired the hospitals from Steward Health Care, says it plans to operate the facilities but has not given a timetable for their reopening.

Insight Hospital and Medical Center Trumbull and Insight Rehabilitation Hospital Hillside closed their doors late last week. Insight Health System, based in Flint, Michigan, said they plan to reopen the hospitals but it’s unclear when that will happen. The two hospitals are both based in Warren, a city of 39,000 just over an hour away from Cleveland.

Insight acquired the two hospitals from Steward Health Care last fall. Steward, the for-profit system based in Dallas, Texas, filed for bankruptcy in May and has sold its facilities.

Citing interruptions in payment from Steward, Insight said it has "paused" all inpatient, outpatient and emergency services at both hospitals Thursday afternoon. Patients in the hospitals were transferred to other facilities and appointments have been canceled in the interest of patient safety, Insight said in a news release.

“Due to additional abrupt developments in Steward Health Care’s bankruptcy proceedings and the mounting lack of transferred dollars owed for healthcare services delivered to patients at Trumbull and Hillside hospitals, all inpatient, outpatient, and ER services are paused,” Insight said in its release.

The health system said in its statement that Insight still plans to operate the facilities, but the organization has not provided a timetable. Earlier in March, the hospitals reduced some services, as Insight cited interruptions in payments from Steward to provide services.

“While the plan remains in place to redesign the hospitals’ operations fully independent of Steward, we apologize for the confusion this transition has caused the community and for the undue burden it has placed on patients and employees,” Insight said in a statement.

Insight sent a notice to the Ohio Department of Job & Family Services late Friday that it is laying off all 143 employees at Hillside. The notice was filed under the requirements of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act.

In its notification to the Ohio job department, Insight said it hopes that the work suspension at Hillside will be less than six months.

“However, due to unforeseen business circumstances, we cannot guarantee when or if employees will be recalled. Insight, therefore, is sending this notice pursuant to WARN,” the health system said.

Insight said it is seeking more funding while Hillside’s operations are being diverted. The health system told the labor department, “Insight is seeking additional funding, but we have no present guarantee of additional funding. Without this funding, the Facility will be on diversion permanently.”

The Ohio Nurses Association, which represents nurses at Hillside, notes that staff weren’t paid on Friday, their typical payday.

De Anna Fuchilla, chair of the Hillside Local Unit of the Ohio Nurses Association, AFT, criticized Insight’s handling of the situation.

“Insight has had every opportunity to handle this transition responsibly, but instead, they’ve abandoned patients and healthcare workers alike,” Fuchilla said in a statement. “This hospital is a lifeline for our community, and its closure is devastating. Workers deserve answers, and patients deserve better than being rushed out the door.”

Rick Lucas, RN, president of the Ohio Nurses Association, AFT, called on Insight to provide healthcare coverage and severance for members, but said he’s also concerned about the residents in the Warren community.

“Patients are losing access to essential care, and healthcare workers are being tossed ​with no plan. We expect Insight to do the right thing and meet their obligations, and we won’t stop fighting until they do,” Lucas said in a statement.

Earlier in March, Insight said it was no longer accepting inpatient admissions at the Trumbull hospital, with the exception of behavioral health patients. The Trumbull hospital was still offering emergency services and outpatient services.

But last Thursday, all services ceased at both the Trumbull and Hillside hospitals.

Residents and staff cheered the news that Insight was acquiring the hospitals last September. Steward had given notice about its plans to close down the facilities in September, angering many in the community.

Jawad Shah, MD, founder of Insight Health System, said last September that the organization planned to keep the hospitals open but also had to evaluate their operations.

Insight has focused on acquiring hospitals in financial distress and trying to turn them around. Insight operates six acute care hospitals, six surgery centers, and 28 clinics. The health system operates hospitals in Illinois, Michigan and Ohio.

The Ohio Nurses Association said that if Insight is planning to reopen the hospitals, the system will need to improve its communication and outline how it plans to regain the trust of the community in Warren.

Insight says patient medical records are available by calling (810) 895-4039 or by email at [email protected].