(TRUMBULL COUNTY, Ohio) — Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost today filed a response in support of the objections of four parties who are seeking more time to facilitate the purchase – and avoid closure – of Trumbull Regional Medical Center and two Hillside Rehabilitation Hospital service locations.
“Hospitals are lifelines for our communities, and the threat of closure due to financial strain means gambling with people’s lives,” AG Yost said. “The health and well-being of Ohioans should never be sacrificed for the bottom line.”
The response – filed in regard to the hospital’s debtors, Steward Health Care System LLC, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas –states that as the chief law enforcement officer for Ohio, Yost has standing to prosecute and advocate to protect the general health and well-being, both physical and economic, of Ohioans.
On Aug. 21, Steward and related debtors filed a 30-day notice of closure for the Trumbull County facilities, citing Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
A week later, the four objecting parties – Warren City Hospital, Western Reserve Health Education, Inc., the City of Warren and Trumbull County – filed a motion requesting additional time to facilitate a bid and extend the 30-day closure notice to Nov. 20, 2024.
Yost’s supporting brief details how closure of Trumbull Regional would negatively impact the health-care needs of northeastern Ohio residents, noting that the surrounding local hospitals might not have the staff or the equipment to handle the influx of emergency medical cases.
Further, it said, the lethal combination of delayed medical response times and overstretched surrounding facilities is an impending catastrophe for patients needing any medical care – problems that might be avoidable if additional time is provided as requested.
An emergency hearing has been requested for September 3.
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