Northside Regional Medical Center to close

Northside Regional Medical Center in Youngstown announced Wednesday that it intends to cease operations and close on September 20, due to what it says have been many years of steady patient decline. Steward Health Care notified the Ohio Department of Health of the intended closure today.

The following is an excerpt from a media release from Steward:

Steward Health Care has begun contacting Northside patients to carefully transition those with scheduled procedures to Steward's nearby hospitals - Trumbull Regional Medical Center and Sharon Regional Medical Center. Patients seeking information about the closure can call a 24-hour hotline at 1-800-846-9013.

After a careful analysis of the hospital needs of the region, Steward Health Care is confident that the Youngstown community will continue to have access to high-quality hospital alternatives at Trumbull Regional Medical Center, Sharon Regional Medical Center, St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital, St. Elizabeth Boardman, St. Joseph Health Center, Akron Children's Hospital, and The Surgical Hospital at Southwoods.

"This is a difficult decision, but Northside Regional Medical Center remains chronically under-utilized as patients in the community choose other hospitals," said Daniel Knell, Central Region President of Steward Health Care. "Every night, four out of five beds at the hospital are empty. It's simply unsustainable."

Northside officials say they intend to stop taking ambulances and admissions in the Emergency Department as of 6 a.m. September 17.

The hospital will then transfer or discharge any patients remaining at the hospital as of September 19.

Steward says employees will be paid through October 14 and compensated for accrued benefits.

21 News is calling representatives of the Youngstown General Duty Nurses Association and the Service Employees International Union to find out what they are doing for members who work at Northside.

The announcement comes less than a year after the Boston-based Steward Health renamed the former Northside Hospitals, as well as Sharon Regional, Trumbull Regional Medical Centers that it acquired in 2017.

Steward also operates Hillside Rehabilitation Hospital in Warren.