Warren City Council unanimously votes to support up $3 million from commissioners to save hospitals
WARREN, Ohio - Warren City Council met Friday to discuss the looming closure of two hospitals owned by Steward Health in Trumbull County.
This meeting came less than 30 minutes after Trumbull County Commissioners met to discuss the same matter.
At that meeting, commissioners passed a motion to write a conditional letter of support to utilize lawfully-available funds up o $3 million to help the hospitals.
During this meeting, the topic of that $3 million came up again with city council and guest speakers discussing the urgent need for this funding in order for residents of Trumbull County to continue to have access to high-quality care close to home.
That's why Council voted unanimously in favor of a motion to commit written support for finances up to $3 million to be appropriated pending other viable and legal funding sources for the assistance to acquire the lease to Trumbull Regional Medical Center and Hillside Rehab Hospital.
Where exactly that money will come from was a subject of debate at Friday's commissioners meeting with commissioners arguing over which funds may or may not be legal to use in this process.
Commissioner Denny Malloy said at both meetings that the county is looking into what exactly can and can't be used, but in the meantime, anything from ARP funds to opioid settlement funds to income tax funds, etc. are all on the table.
Council also unanimously voted in favor of filing an objection to the notice of closure recently issued by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court on behalf of the City of Warren in collaboration with other affected parties.
"It's a mechanical procedure that's necessary in a bankruptcy filing," said law director Enzo Cantalamessa. As for the conditional commitment of money, he said "it tells the bankruptcy judge that look, this is not just a promise or a hope that there's an entity out there that can take this hospital on and make it successful again, but here are the financial commitments in place that demonstrate and prove that they have the wherewithall to do that."
While it's not known whether the money would be in the form of a loan or grant, the two resolutions were enough for cautious optimism.
"It's a blessing we were able to get this done," said councilman Jim Shaffer, whose ward includes both hospitals. "I'm so happy for all the people, the 700 employees...this was really a no-brainer."
