People in Sharon are trying to figure out what they'll do when the city's only hospital closes.

Caroline Kuchling and Shelby Mcbryar are athletes at Penn State Shenango and live in Sharon. They say they don't have any kind of medical center on campus and rely on the hospital for any injuries. 

“We both have gone to Sharon Regional for emergencies and they were really helpful,” Kuchling said. 

“It's really an inconvenience that it won't be there. We don't really have anything to really rely on that's really close to us,” Mcbryar said about SRMC closing. “It sucks because we would have to go all the way back home to our hospitals or further away.”

Some people say when the hospital closes they’ll have to go to UPMC Horizon in Farrell. Even though it's a short 10 minute drive some are worried it's too small to handle a big rush of patients. Others say they’ll drive further to other hospitals but aren't happy about it. 

“It's inconvenient for us to have to drive all the way to Youngstown when something happens that's urgent,” Kuchling said.

“I think it's going to put a really big damper on the senior citizens that have been here for a long time,” Mcbryar said. 

As one last ditch effort to save the hospital the Pennsylvania Attorney general's office will be back in court Jan. 3 for their civil complaint against Medical Properties Trust. MPT is the landlord of the hospital and largely decides the price for a new buyer.

No one has been able to reach their unknown asking amount, including Meadville Medical Center who announced they pulled their offer to buy SRMC on Dec. 16. 

“Time and time again, here in the Commonwealth and across the country, we have seen private equity acquisitions of health care systems harm the many residents and families who depend on facilities and their staff for essential services.

My office is an advocate for affordable and accessible health care, and we worked around the clock with the parties involved to try to salvage a financial arrangement that keeps Sharon Hospital's doors open and staff employed at their respective locations,” a statement from Attorney General Michelle Henry office said. 

Steward health, the organization in charge of Sharon Regional, filed for bankruptcy in 2023 and has been selling off its hospitals to recoup some money. Sharon Regional is one of their last hospitals across the nation that has not found a new buyer yet.

If the price of the hospital is not lowered or no other buyer comes forward the hospital will close on Jan 6.