When or if Sharon Regional Medical Center will reopen continues to be a question with no answer.

Mercer County commissioner Ann Coleman is disappointed that the agreement isn't moving forward, but says there is still hope for the future of Sharon Regional.

“I think we had really high hopes that this Tenor opportunity would come to fruition. In the next couple of days they were going to reopen. So now we kind of have to sit back, look at what’s happened and see what we can do moving forward to make sure we promote the hospital, promote our area, and promote the community's commitment to that,” said Coleman.

Without any clear answers, the hundreds of Sharon Regional employees still don't know if they will be able to return to work at the hospital.

On Wednesday, MPT sent a statement saying they are unable to proceed with the agreement with Tenor Health to reopen the hospital after Buhl Legacy Trust decided to move forward with its claims. Now, a timeline for reopening is even less clear.

Coleman was optimistic about the deal moving forward, but has shifted that optimism to disappointment. 

“I've hoped that MPT would start thinking about our community first and be able to come to some kind of agreement where everybody could be a winner and walk away with the hospital reopening,” said Coleman. 

Even so, Coleman is holding onto hope.

“I think there's still room for negotiation on making this happen. We have, you know, a lot of communities who are committed to helping to provide some Cede funding for this, and I don't think we are abandoning that effort,” said Coleman.

Maureen Tkacik, investigations editor for the American Prospect, agrees that even with the Buhl Legacy Trust not backing down, there is still a possibility the deal could move forward. Even so, the future remains uncertain.

“This is one of the last holdouts, so it's possible that they can just kind of pay them off to go away, but other than that, I don't know. They, Medical Properties Trust, has been known to litigate,” said Tkacik.

Tkacik said she wasn’t surprised to hear the hospital’s reopening was put on hold,  but was shocked that Buhl Legacy Trust is not backing down from their claims.

"The fact that the Buhl Trust is actually going to litigate this now is incredibly heartening," said Tkacik. "This is a very serious allegation. It’s not one that surprises me because a lot of other Steward hospitals seem to be in this camp."

The Pennsylvania Attorney General's office declined to do an interview, but sent this statement:

“The Office of Attorney General is working with the city of Sharon, Tenor Health, and MPT on a process to reopen Sharon Regional Medical Center. 

We are encouraged by everyone working in good faith to achieve the goal of accessible healthcare for the many people impacted by the recent closure.”