Sharon Regional Medical Center is expected to reopen by early next week. 

This comes after a Mercer County judge signed off on a settlement agreement regarding a lawsuit against Medical Properties Trust that was put forth by the state of Pennsylvania.

A Mercer County Judge signed off on the settlement agreement Tuesday night put forth by the state of Pennsylvania.

This lawsuit was one of the final obstacles in the way of the hospital reopening. While MPT Acknowledges this, their latest statement did not mention the Buhl Legacy Trust's claims.

MPT’s statement reads:

“MPT has always recognized Sharon Hospital’s importance to the community, and we are pleased to have reached an agreement with all key stakeholders to facilitate its reopening. We greatly appreciate the collaborative efforts of Tenor Health, the Commonwealth, Judge Isgur, and the bankruptcy court in this process and we look forward to seeing operations successfully resume in the coming days.”

 

The Pennsylvania Attorney General's office and the city of Sharon also sent statements showing their excitement for the deal moving forward with no mention of the Trust.

The Trust said the Commonwealth's decision to release all claims in the pending lawsuit was negotiated with MPT without any input by Legacy Trust.

The group is continuing to stand by their claims regarding the hospital and MPT, but reiterated that the Legacy Trust will never exercise its claim against MPT in any fashion that interrupts hospital operation.

Here is the full statement from Buhl Legacy Trust:

The Board of Directors of Christian H. Buhl Legacy Trust, along with the general public, learned this morning through the news media of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's sweeping general release of all its claims (e.g., paragraphs 38-40 of the attached Petition) against Medical Properties Trust, Inc., MPT of Sharon-Steward, LLC, CHS/Community Health Systems, Inc., and all former parents, affiliates, subsidiaries, related entities, and related persons. The Commonwealth's release of all claims and its discontinuance of the pending lawsuit was negotiated with MPT without input from, or participation by, Legacy Trust.

The Legacy Trust Board stands by its Statement released on January 15, 2025, which follows for convenient reference. The truth of the Board's January 15 Statement has been vindicated. As previously stated, Legacy Trust will never exercise its claim against MPT in any fashion that interrupts hospital operations, whether they are conducted by Tenor or some other entity. We are hoping, along
with the rest of the community, that Tenor is successful in reviving the hospital.


Even so, the hospital is set to reopen.  Bryan Burklow, chief transformations director for Tenor Health Foundation, said the reopening process is already underway.

Tenor Health is currently meeting with employees and doctors who are staying on board. 

Since employees left during the uncertainty, Tenor Health is networking with other sources to fill employment gaps. 

The group is working on getting new vendor contracts and submitting a plan to the Department of Health to make sure they approve the group's license needed to reopen Sharon Regional.

Tenor Health is hoping to get the license, and reopen Sharon Regional within the next two weeks.