Can lawmakers save local Steward hospitals?

(WKBN) – As the Valley continues to reel from the news that Steward Health’s bankruptcy is forcing the closure of Trumbull Regional Medical Center and Hillside Rehabilitation Hospital, efforts are underway in other states to gain control of hospital properties.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Michele Henry filed paperwork asking the court to slow down or stop the process to close Sharon Regional Medical Center. Henry said they have a buyer lined up with Meadville Medical Center and wants more time to raise capital, facilitate the acquisition and get Steward to stop demanding $1.5 million from the state in order to stop the closure.

In Massachusetts, Governor Maura Healey announced the state will take over one of Steward’s hospitals there by eminent domain in a $4.5 million deal with creditors and work to line up a buyer, but she is getting pushback from the owners of the leased property where the hospital sits.

Medical Properties Trust (MPT) is the leaseholder for properties where Steward has hospitals. A company spokesperson issued a statement about pending sales.

“MPT has brought solutions to the table that would enable Steward’s hospitals in Ohio and Pennsylvania to remain open, including new lease terms with multiple high-quality prospective operators. Steward alone is responsible for the closure of these facilities as bidders were unwilling to agree to their demands around the hospital operations.”

Medical Properties Trust

Both states are looking to the bankruptcy court to rule on their next moves. It’s a contentious situation since laws are different in the states that Steward operates and closing procedures could go against those laws, as Henry has declared.

“Hospitals cannot quickly, or unilaterally, be closed under Pennsylvania law,” Henry wrote.

In the meantime, Steward said that lenders are pressuring them to raise any money they can and close hospitals quickly, sometimes with very little notice.

Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) joined by Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Ed Markey (D-MA) in a June letter to the Department of Justice’s U.S. Trustee Program (USTP) to appoint a Chapter 11 trustee to run Steward during the bankruptcy saying they don’t trust Steward to make decisions during the bankruptcy because of “mismanagement” and “a history of deception.”

Brown said Thursday that his office is monitoring the situation with Trumbull Regional and Hillside.

“This announcement is a slap in the face to the hardworking health care workers who made this company millions of dollars and to the patients in the Mahoning Valley who relied on Steward’s facilities for care. It’s disgraceful that corporate greed has resulted in the loss of a hospital that’s been serving this community for more than 100 years. My office is monitoring this situation closely and working to support affected workers and ensure patients continue to have access to high quality care,” Brown said.

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine said he, too, is monitoring the situation and that Steward must be held accountable. However, he tried to temper fears by directing residents to other health care providers.

“Nevertheless, we are optimistic that area residents will still be able to access quality care close to home. As many local residents are aware, Mercy Health St. Joseph Hospital is located close by (1.5 miles away) and Mercy Health St. Elizabeth Hospital in Youngstown (a large facility with more than 400 beds) is less than 15 miles away,” DeWine said.

How much letters and filings will help save the medical facilities is unclear at best. Buyers have to come forward and prove they have capital to take over. States can try to boost those coffers, but the process is lengthy and creditors may not want to wait because each day a hospital stays open runs up the balance sheet.

Steward Health operates 31 hospitals across eight states.

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