TRUMBULL COUNTY, OH - Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost is the latest to file a response supporting objections to the closures of two Steward-owned hospitals in Trumbull County.

Yost is supporting the objections of four parties who are seeking more time to facilitate the purchase of Trumbull Regional Medical Center and Hillside Rehabilitation Hospital in Warren to prevent them from closing.

Last week, Steward Health and its debtors filed a 30-day notice of closure to both hospitals mentioned above. Those looking to keep the hospitals open are asking for that deadline to be extended to November 20.

"Hospitals are lifelines for our communities, and the threat of closure due to financial strain means gambling with people's lives. The health and well-being of Ohioans should never be sacrificed for the bottom line," Yost said.

Yost's filing details how the closure of Trumbull Regional Medical Center would impact the health care needs of patients in the Valley noting that nearby hospitals could get overwhelmed and not be properly equipped to handle an influx of new patients.

"Trumbull [Regional] Medical Center is a 356-bed facility that treated over 300,000 patients in 2023. With the potential closing of this facility, the surrounding local hospitals may not be staffed or equipped to handle the flux of emergency medical cases should Trumbull be forced to close," Yost said.

Yost went on to highlight the increase in response times could lead to the deaths of patients that could be prevented by an extension of the deadline.

"The lethal combination of delayed medical response times and overstretched surrounding facilities is an impeding catastrophe for patients needing any medical care. This may be avoided if additional time is allowed as requested," Yost said.

An emergency hearing on this matter has been requested for Tuesday, September 3.