The Ohio Nurses Association and American Federation of Teachers, which represent registered nurses at Hillside Rehabilitation Hospital, said they’re deeply concerned for the patients and community after learning operator, Steward Health Care, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

In a news release, the association stated Hillside in Howland “plays a crucial role” in providing specialized inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation services for people recovering from injuries, surgeries and chronic conditions.

“While receiving this traumatic news is undoubtedly challenging, as nurses, we remain steadfast in our commitment to the wellness, care and healing of our patients,” De Anna Fuchilla, chair of the Hillside Registered Nurses Association, a local unit of the ONA, said.

“Our community relies on Hillside for essential healthcare services, and we are committed to ensuring continued access to the care they require.”

Steward Health, based in Dallas, filed for bankruptcy protection Monday. Doing so, according to a company release, was a necessary step to continue to provide patient care. Steward Health also stated in the release it did not expect any service disruption.

“Steward does not expect any interruptions in its day-to-day operations, which will continue in the ordinary course throughout the Chapter 11 process,” the company said in a written statement. “Steward’s hospitals, medical centers and physician’s offices are open and continuing to serve patients and the broader community and our commitment to our employees will not change.”

Steward Health operates more than 30 hospitals nationwide. Those include Trumbull Regional Medical Center in Warren, Hillside Rehabilitation Hospital in Howland and Sharon Regional Medical Center in Sharon, Pennsylvania.

At Hillside, nurses in December signed a three-year contract with the hospital. The association represents 24 nurses there.

Rick Lucas, association president and executive director, said it would “exhaust every avenue to safeguard” the health care services at Hillside and “uphold the terms of our agreement.”

“Our dedicated nurses work diligently to deliver high-quality care, improving patients’ lives as they journey toward recovery. The loss of Northside Hospital in 2018 underscores the urgent need for collective action,” Lucas said in the release. “We urge community leaders and elected officials to stand with us in supporting our nurses, health professionals, and those they serve, preventing further closures, and preserving essential services for the community’s well-being now and in the future.”

The company filed for protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas.

Steward said it is finalizing the terms of “debtor-in-possession financing” from its landlord Medical Properties Trust for initial funding of $75 million and “up to an additional $225 million upon the satisfaction of certain conditions.”

“Steward Health Care has done everything in its power to operate successfully in a highly challenging health care environment. Filing for Chapter 11 restructuring is in the best interests of our patients, physicians, employees, and communities at this time,” Dr. Ralph de la Torre, CEO of Steward, said in a press release.

“In the past several months we have secured bridge financing and progressed the sale of our Stewardship Health business in order to help stabilize operations at all of our hospitals. With the delay in closing of the Stewardship Health transaction, Steward was forced to seek alternative methods of bridging its operations,” he added.

In March, the company announced it had struck a deal to sell its nationwide physician network to Optum, a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group, as it works to stabilize its finances.

In January, Steward announced it sold select assets of its outreach lab services to New Jersey-based Quest Diagnostics, which will provide the testing at its full-service lab in Pittsburgh.