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WARREN — The construction of a new St. Joseph Hospital next to Kent State University at Trumbull campus has been put on hold.
It’s because of “national economic volatility, inflationary pressure and financial challenges healthcare systems nationwide are experiencing,” according to a Friday statement by Mercy Health.
Mercy Health-Youngstown in May had formally announced that it planned to relocate its St. Joseph Warren Hospital to the 62.8-acre site in Champion Township.
The current Eastland Avenue facility was to be demolished, though outpatient services would have still been offered at the adjacent medical office building.
The move was intended to allow the hospital to better serve growing health care needs in the region. Mercy had expected to break ground on the new building early next year. The anticipated 400,000-square-foot facility would have been the first new hospital built in the area since Mercy Health constructed St. Elizabeth Boardman Hospital in 2007. It was planned to have 241 beds and to provide full inpatient and outpatient services, with room to grow.
The Trumbull County Auditor’s website shows the parcel on which the new hospital was to be built is still owned by the Kent State University Board of Trustees.
Mercy said it looks forward to resuming planning for the new hospital project in the future, but has not released a time frame for when that might happen.
“Mercy Health remains committed to the health and well-being of our community,” reads Friday’s statement, which says that it will continue to provide “compassionate, high-quality care for the Mahoning Valley” at the current St. Joseph Warren Hospital.
Read MORE in Saturday’s TRIBUNE CHRONICLE