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Steward has faced challenges selling facilities during its Chapter 11 bankruptcy restructuring — would-be buyers have backed out of deals and its sales timeline was delayed multiple times, fueled in part by weeks-long stalemates with its landlord over how to divvy up proceeds from sales.
The health system first floated the possibility of closing Sharon in August. Attorneys told a U.S. federal bankruptcy court the health system would have to close the facility if it could not find a buyer imminently because the hospital — like many in Steward’s portfolio — was short on funds.
At the time, Meadville was interested in taking over the facility — though it placed serious caveats on its willingness to fund the deal, according to a report from the Herald.
Sharon was granted a lifeline in September when Pennsylvania agreed to provide $4.5 million to fund the hospital’s operations between September and November while Steward sought to solidify a deal with the nonprofit health system.
Ultimately, satisfactory terms never emerged. Meadville expressed regret about the outcome in a statement on Monday.
“A tremendous amount of effort and resources were dedicated to keeping SRMC open and serving the community,” the system said. “On behalf of MMC, we want to acknowledge those individuals and organizations who went above and beyond to support this worthy effort to preserve essential healthcare services for the Sharon community.”
Still, filing a closure notice does not necessarily mean the hospital will close in January.
Although Steward has closed two facilities after failing to find a buyer — Massachusetts-based Carney Hospital and Nashoba Valley Medical Center — it has also walked back other closure notices.
In August, Steward said it would close Ohio-based Trumbull Regional Medical Center and Hillside Rehabilitation Hospital. However, the system inked a deal the next month to transfer ownership of the facilities to Insight Foundation of Hillside.
A federal bankruptcy hearing is scheduled for Thursday to discuss Sharon’s possible closure.
