As the threat of closure looms for Trumbull Regional Medical Center in Warren, the hospital is now very limited in the patients it will accepts.

Hospital union president Tom Connelly tells 21 News that Trumbull Regional Medical Center is no longer accepting patients with the exception of emergency walk-in visits.

We're told all other patients are being rerouted by ambulance to St. Joe's in Warren.

It's a move the nurses union president says caught them by surprise.

"Somebody should have talked to the nursing staff, the physicians, everybody all the the way around and said 'this is what we're going to when person A shows up to the ambulance bay.", Connelly added.

Connelly says he's optimistic that a deal will get done or resolution reached but believes this latest move by Steward is a way of upping the ante.

"It's Steward trying to put pressure on the purchasers and the courts to get their way."

21 News reached out to Steward but as of this writing they haven't offered a comment on the matter.

The hospital, along with several Warren City and Trumbull County officials and a grassroots organization known as Warren City Hospital are fighting to keep the hospital from closing.

As it stands, the hospital will close on September 20. Those officials and organizations trying to save the hospital have filed an objection in an attempt to extend that deadline to November 20 or a t least extend it by 15 days to allow for a bid to be put in for the hospital.

Last week, Trumbull County Commissioners and Warren City Council met to discuss how they can possibly save the hospital and where any potential money to save it could come from.

Commissioner Niki Frenchko has been working to employ the help of Governor Dewine's office through means such as eminent domain, a health emergency declaration, or delaying the bankruptcy court deadline.

"I call on the Governor, Husted and Yost to see what they can do to acquire the property or help in this process.". she said, adding that would allow a purchaser such as Warren City Hospital to put the money into facility.

 Frenchko also pointed out how invaluable the services are that Trumbull Regional Medical Center provides like the county's lone psychiatry unit, which stopped taking admissions August 23. The hospital also provides a Cardiac Cath lab.

The county leader referenced other alternative funding sources including the state's rainy day fund, which has more than $3 billion.

"We see people around election time, we need to see people stepping up right now because they're going to be back asking us for our votes. We need a fire to be lit under them and I don't know where they've been.", Frenchko said.

You can read more about these discussions and the efforts to save the hospital in our related coverage below.

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