The Jambar
Regional medical care facilities are facing a decline both locally and nationally, with several closures this past year.
Near the Mahoning Valley, Sharon Regional Medical Center in Sharon, Pennsylvania closed its doors Jan. 6. Mahoning County witnessed the first of its regional healthcare facilities close Sept. 20, 2018, with Northside Regional Medical Center shuttering its doors.
In August 2024, two other facilities faced closures with Trumbull Regional Medical Center and Hillside Rehabilitation Hospital — now Insight Hospital and Medical Center Trumbull — pausing operations and laying off workers.
As most of the facilities remain closed or under new management, the concern for many is the loss of jobs, regional availability to medical care and the loss of hospital nursing programs for university students.
With the recent closure of Sharon Regional, the effects of its abrupt closure are still prominent, although Tenor Health Partners acquired the hospital Jan. 11. Today, over 800 employees are left without jobs and forced to relocate to local hospitals or travel farther from the area.
Both Trumbull Regional and Sharon Regional were owned by Dallas-based Steward Health Care Systems LLC, which filed for Chapter 11 protection in May 2024 under the U.S. bankruptcy code.
According to CNN, the privately-owned company sustained over $9 billion in liabilities and was forced to sell all 31 of its locations. Besides Ohio and Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Florida also saw closures of the formerly owned Steward hospitals.
For Sharon Regional, its process of reopening was met with legal and funding issues. According to WKBN, it’s because of an ongoing battle between the state of Pennsylvania and Tenor Health.
University medical students also felt the impacts of the abrupt closures. With the School of Nursing at Sharon Regional shutting its doors, nursing students from Penn State Shenago and Thiel College were met with uncertainty in their career paths.
Those students will now rely on Meadville Medical Center. In a press release from the hospital, Meadville Medical will start accepting students into its new medical program, which went into effect January 2025. The hospital will also take in current students from both schools.
“We were very disappointed with the closure notice issued for Sharon Regional Medical Center, however the nursing program will move forward with graduating the current cohort of students scheduled to graduate in May 2026,” Meadville Medical stated.
When Trumbull Regional faced its closure, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine stated that Trumbull County residents still have access to regional care facilities.
“Nevertheless, we are optimistic that area residents will still be able to access quality care close to home. As many local residents are aware, Mercy Health St. Joseph Hospital is located close by [1.5 miles away] and Mercy Health St. Elizabeth Hospital in Youngstown [a large facility with more than 400 beds] is less than 15 miles away,” DeWine stated.
The looming question for the Mahoning Valley and its surrounding counties is, will more hospital and healthcare facility closures be in the works for 2025?
