$30M needed to keep TRMC, Hillside Rehabilitation open past September
In the wake of the sudden news that Steward Health will be closing Trumbull Medical Center and several of its satellite locations throughout the Valley, local officials are fighting to keep it open.
In a press conference this afternoon, Warren Mayor William D. Franklin said that not only are they increasing their efforts to keep TRMC running, they are also filing an objection in federal bankruptcy court to the planned closure, which is expected to happen Sept. 19.
"This notice of foreclosure, i think hit everybody by surprise, like a two-by-four," he said. "Nobody saw it coming. There was no warning, and usually there could have been."
With the help of Warren City Hospital Inc., local leaders are working to put these plans in motion within the next 48 hours, according to Franklin.
Sen. Sherrod Brown and Sen. J.D. Vance have also been asked to try and stop the closure on a federal level, according to Trumbull County Commissioner Denny Malloy.
In total, between $20 and $30 million is needed to keep the TRMC and Hillside Rehabilitation Hospital open for at least 90 days, Malloy said.
The money needed is to keep these facilities open for the initial start-up phase of operating them.
To help with this, the United Way of Trumbull County has launched a fundraiser called "Save our Hospital" to help keep the TRMC open. Every dollar raised from this link will 100% go to saving the hospital.
Any dollar amount will be accepted with options to set up a one-time, weekly, monthly or quarterly recurring payment options. You can click here to learn more.
"We're not going to be able to get all the money we need by people clicking on a button, we know that," Malloy said. "But there is a plan in place, we know it's a rock solid plan but it needs money to help get it over the hump."
We couldn't get a clear answer as to how much local authorities still need to raise to reach that goal of $30 million. While securing the cash to keep the hospitals open past September is the short-term goal, sustainability in the long term is still unclear.
"From a capital standpoint, we need money to operate the system early on, we need to make facilities improvements long-term, and thirdly we need to replace equipment. Those are the three things that need to be undertaken," said John Guarnieri, president of Warren City Hospital, Inc.
The nonprofit hopes to have the remaining money secured within 48 hours.
In the meantime, some of the doctors, nurses and residents shared personal stories from their patients of how the hospitals closing would impact them.
One of those residents said that earlier Thursday, a patient approached him in tears, saying she's writing to Governor DeWine to tell how the health care she's received at Trumbull Regional helped save her life.
"Had it not been for Hillside or Trumbull, she would not have gotten through her compression fractures and her infections and later the therapy she received at Hillside. She was really grateful and she was really mad it was closing. It's an integral part of society," the resident said.
"The hospital is in a state of panic right now," added nurses union president Tom Connelly. "Nurses are hard enough to find as it is. If we lose them, it'll be trouble."
Franklin called on Columbus to step in, and to reach deals in principle as other states with struggling Steward hospitals have.
"The template's there, we just need to plagiarize it," he said. "But we need the state's help to do that, and yes, those conversations are ongoing."