The Skranton Regional Hospital will remain open against the backdrop of current negotiations with a potential buyer to acquire the health establishment, according to a state representative who advocates for the City Hospital.
“The hospital is right now, not a closure,” said State Reporter Bridget Kosiyevski, D-114, Waverly Twp., In a telephone interview on Wednesday. “We are still actively working with a situation of all hands on deck with a potential buyer.”
Last month, Union Health Workers, Selected Employees and other stakeholders held a City Hall Forum aimed at rescuing the Commonwealth Health Regional Hospital of Scranton and her hospital campus in Moses after the end of 2024. During this forum on March 13, the hospital’s defenders, including members of the Union of SeiU Health Workers, tried to keep critical services in the regional and Moses Taylor, along with the Union jobs needed to provide this care. It was the second town hall since December.
Tennessee -based health systems of Tennessee Inc. Or CHS, is the parent company of Commonwealth.
In a statement late on Wednesday afternoon, Commonwealth Health Poslock spokesman said working with selected Pennsylvania employees to find another regional hospital operator and related campuses, clinics and outpatient centers continues.
“We are happy to share that we believe that we have achieved a deal with the governor’s office and other groups that make us optimistic about the future of our hospital,” Polok said. “We hope to share more details about this in the coming months. In the meantime, we will continue to focus on our patients and provide the medical assistance they need.”
Critical negotiations were held on Wednesday morning, said Kosiyevski, who is a longtime nurse and a local leader on access to local health care. Initially, the hospital and healthcare managers met at 10 am Wednesday, discussing the closure, Kosiyevski said. Late meetings included board and medical management, the management of the employee department, and finally all medical staff. These meetings have shifted to thank governor Josh Shapiro and the healthcare plan to keep a regional open until a new operator came in, she said.
The hospital works as usual, she said, emphasizing the importance of his continuing operations.
“At that time, I can say that they do not announce closure. Many active negotiations are still happening, and those who are on the table are still on the table,” she said. “This place should remain open and work for the community – it is catastrophic if not.”
The Regional and Moses Taylor are separate facilities, but they work under one license after a merger in 2022, with the operations being coordinated in both campuses. When the defenders talk about saving regional, they refer to jobs and services in Moses Taylor.
Last year, the interest of non-profit Woodbridge Healthcare to acquire a regional hospital, Moses Taylor, Commonwealth’s Wilkes-Barre General Hospital and other health assets seemed to provide a potential path to stability, but this failed in November due to lack of funding. With this sale dead, the defenders quickly expressed fears that the regional could be closed if it was not acquired by a new property by starting a buyer search.
In a hospital data sheet hosted on its website Protectregionalcareandjobs.org, Seiu Healthcare claims that if the regional hospital is closed, there will be not enough beds between the Medical Center of the GEINGER County in the County County and the Hospital Lehigh Valley Paw. While hospitals in Luzernn County could take part of this care, closing regional will reduce access to healthcare and increase travel time, including for life -threatening conditions, SEIU said.
A Community Report 2023 on the Regional and His Moses Taylor campus set the number of patients there in clinics for Commonwealth Health Clinics and other outpatient sites of 381,000 of the same year.
The closure of the regional would also create a significant void in birth and delivery services, as the regional represents about 70% of births in Lackawanna County, according to a press release.
SEIU employees had not heard news about changing ownership or potential closure, but in a statement earlier Wednesday night, they said that Union members were still worried about the future of regional and they were deeply committed to doing everything they need to save their hospital. The Union of Health Workers attributes its remarks to Pennsylvania members Corin Sianfici, a 30 -year -old employee, and Sue Wiggins, a six -year service laboratory technician.
“We are ready to welcome every new owner and work with them in order to preserve and expand the services, to protect the good jobs of the Union, and to ensure that community concerns are being resolved,” the statement said. “The Regional Hospital is absolutely critical of the health and economy of the entire region of Nepa. Our population is older, slowly and needs more complex care than ever.”
Any job loss will be detrimental to working residents in northeastern Pennsylvania, the Union said. The hospital provides more than 1,000 jobs, contributing to salaries and benefits of $ 148 million to local families, according to SEIU.
“We urge all stakeholders to continue diligently together so that regional ones can remain open and we can provide the quality healthcare that our community urgently needs,” the statement said.
As the negotiations continue, Kosiyevski emphasized the importance of maintaining the regional open, while specifying the support of community partners, from local foundations to lawmakers.
“When I say everyone is doing everything they can, that’s the truth,” she said. “It is essential that everyone in the community is assured that we have access to a regional hospital.”