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WARREN -- Attorney General Dave Yost on Friday filed court papers that support the effort of groups trying to stop the planned Sept. 20 closure of Steward Health Care facilities in the Mahoning Valley.
"Hospitals are lifelines for our communities, and the threat of closure due to financial strain means gambling with people's lives," Yost said in a news release. "The health and well-being of Ohioans should never be sacrificed for the bottom line."
On Aug. 27, four parties -- Warren, Trumbull County, Warren City Hospital and Western Reserve Health Education -- filed an objection to the Aug. 21 closure notices for Trumbull Regional Medical Center, Hillside Rehabilitation Hospital and other satellite facilities, and sought more time to submit a bid and extend the closure deadline to Nov. 20.
On Thursday, an amended objection was filed, asking for an emergency hearing Tuesday and laying out plans for Western Reserve, which operates residency programs at Trumbull Regional, to acquire the facility, outpatient facilities in Bazetta and Austintown and a clinic in Hubbard.
The new court document also showed Western Reserve had secured commitments of $20.5 million to operate the hospitals until ownership changes hands.
It doesn't appear the hearing will happen, however, because Steward Health announced Friday it and its landlord, Medical Properties Trust in Birmingham, Alabama, have an agreement in principle for Medical Properties Trust to assume the operational expenses for most Steward Health hospitals, excluding those in Massachusetts, on Sept. 11.
A court hearing is planned for Sept. 10 for U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Christopher M. Lopez to consider the agreement.
In general, Yost's filing details how the closure of Trumbull Regional and Hillside would hurt the health care needs of the region.
"While providing regular and emergency hospital services to the Trumbull County and surrounding area is the most significant reason to support a sale versus closure, the two facilities remaining open would facilitate a smoother transition to potential new owners and the local economy would undoubtedly suffer less," the filing states.
Joining the objection to close the sites Wednesday was the Ohio Nurses Association, which represents 22 nurses at Hillside.
Joining on Friday were Ohio Council 8 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, its locals 2026, 228 and 2804, and Service Employees International Union District 1199 WV/KY/OH. They represent about 800 people at Trumbull Regional and Hillside, a mix of registered nurses, professional, technical, clerical and maintenance employees.
"It is without dispute that the closing of these facilities will have (a) devastating effect on the delivery of vital health care to residents in the Warren, Ohio area," the filing states. "To make matters worse, debtors are one of the largest employers, if not the largest employer, in the area, and the loss of jobs due to the closings will have a detrimental effect on the area's already challenged economy."
Trumbull Regional employs more than 750 people and Hillside, more than 150.
Earlier this week, the ONA asked Gov. Mike DeWine and Yost for help to stop the planned closures of the hospitals.
The union sent a letter asking for an executive order to temporarily halt the closures, which, the letter states, would give local leaders time to finalize a plan and for an investigation into Steward Health's handling of Medicaid and pandemic relief funds, and potential fraud.
"Ohioans deserve to know if public money was misused," the letter from Rick Lucas, association president and executive director, states.
The letter also calls on the state to allocate emergency funding through the Ohio Department of Health to keep the hospitals open until a buyer is secured, to support a proposal to use eminent domain to keep Trumbull Regional Medical Center and Hillside Rehabilitation Hospital operational and to use the state's resources to connect potential buyers with the hospitals "and ensure that whoever takes over is committed to maintaining services and protecting jobs."
"Ohio's health care system is on life support, and you have the power to save it. But Ohioans are watching, and they will not forget this moment," the letter states. "You can choose to act now or stand by as our health care infrastructure crumbles. The choice is your, but time is running out."
Lucas also was critical of DeWine and Yost, writing they "have stood by, watching this crisis unfold without lifting a finger."
DeWine spokesman Dan Tierney said Ohio doesn't have specialized programs to provide funding for hospitals in distress or help with an acquisition, but the state has been examining ways to help through more general grant programs.
"We have identified grants these groups can apply for," Tierney said, adding, "I know we would move swiftly once we have the information to move forward on such grants."
Also, rules for licensing hospitals in Ohio won't be effective until the end of September, and Tierney admitted that's "of little solace" to the situation, "but licensure is generally what gives you the levers to be more aggressive in this space."
It's difficult, he said, to use what is happening in other states where Steward Health has hospitals, like Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, and apply it to Ohio because licensure doesn't yet exist.
In a statement Friday, Lucas said it's "crucial" for Yost and his office "to stay actively engaged in this fight moving forward."
The ONA, according to Lucas, will continue to urge DeWine to "take decisive action to ensure these hospitals remain open."
"We are calling on him to meet with stakeholders, support legislative efforts, and use his influence to advocate for the full resumption of services at Hillside and Trumbull," Lucas said. "The future of health care in our community depends on it."