Two Ohio hospitals slated for closure get new ownership

Later this month, two Ohio hospitals were poised to close their doors for good.

Insight Health Systems has reached an agreement to take over Trumbull Regional Medical Center and Hillside Rehabilitation Hospital. Steward Health Care planned to close the facilities next month.

But a new agreement has given Trumbull Regional Medical Center and Hillside Rehabilitation Hospital a new lease on life.

Insight Health Systems, based in Flint, Mich., has secured approval to take over the facilities based in Warren, Ohio, a city of 39,000 just over an hour from Cleveland.

Steward Health Care, which had owned the facilities, said last month that it would close the Ohio hospitals by Sept. 19. Steward, the for-profit system based in Dallas, Texas, filed for bankruptcy in May and has been working to sell its 31 hospitals.

Steward recently announced that it reached a deal with Medical Properties Trust, which owns Steward’s real estate, on a deal that would keep most of the hospitals open. On Wednesday, a bankruptcy court judge approved Steward's agreement with Medical Properties Trust, Reuters reported

Insight said in a news release that it is taking ownership of the hospitals as of Sept. 11. Insight operates hospitals and healthcare facilities in Michigan, Iowa, New Jersey and Illinois. Its portfolio includes six acute care hospitals, six surgery centers and 28 clinics.

Jawad Shah, MD, founder of Insight Health System, said the organization plans to keep the hospitals open but must evaluate their operations.

“We recognize the undo stress and unease activities over the last several months have caused members of the Warren community and surrounding areas who have been in limbo wondering how they will get medical care or whether they will still have a job if these facilities close,” Shah said in a statement.

Trumbull’s emergency department and critical service lines will remain open, but Insight said some services may be suspended until the organization can ensure patient safety. Some patients could be transferred to St. Joseph Warren Hospital if necessary, and Insight said it has an agreement with the hospital to accept some patients if needed.

“While our immediate goal is to keep the doors of Trumbull and Hillside open for patients and staff, we will assess all aspects of those facilities’ operations in the coming weeks to identify sensible pathways to stabilize operations to ensure these organizations can meet the needs of the communities they serve for generations to come,” Shah said in a statement.

The Ohio Nurses Association, which has been pushing state officials to keep Trumbull Regional and Hillside open, welcomed the news that the hospitals have a future.

Rick Lucas, president of the Ohio Nurses Association, said in a statement Wednesday that the court agreement “to keep Hillside Rehabilitation Hospital and Trumbull Regional Medical Center open is lifesaving for the patients and employees of those hospitals.”

Lucas also said the group wants to ensure union contracts are honored. He said the association, which represents nurses at Hillside, will work with Insight to ensure the transition “keeps patient and staff safety a top priority, hospital operations fully functional, and continues to honor the collective bargaining agreement for our union nurses.”

Trumbull Regional had stopped scheduling some appointments, but the medical center resumed making new appointments days after Steward announced it had a deal that would keep most of its hospitals open.

“Trumbull Regional Medical Center has resumed scheduling for diagnostic procedures, surgeries, outpatient treatments, and testing at all locations,” the hospital said on its Facebook page Sept. 4. “We appreciate everyone's patience and support as we ramp up our operations.”

Nurses, union leaders, and elected officials rallied to save Trumbull Regional and Hillside.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine lamented the planned closure of the two hospitals and had vowed to help ensure residents would have access to healthcare services. But nurses and community leaders also pushed his administration to take more concerted efforts to save the hospitals.

On Wednesday, Orlando Health received court approval to acquire three Steward hospitals in Florida in a $439 million deal.

Steward has also received court approval to sell six of its hospitals in Massachusetts to new owners. But two Steward hospitals in Massachusetts closed for good on Aug. 31: Carney Hospital and Nashoba Valley Medical Center.

Local lawmakers and healthcare professionals are continuing efforts to save those facilities.

Members of Congress, including members of the Massachusetts delegation, have lambasted Steward over the management of its hospitals and said they will continue to look into what went wrong.