(WKBN) — Another medical group has expressed interest in buying Steward Health hospitals as well as a shuttered Valley hospital.
According to a press release, faith-based healthcare organization Yates Medical Group, LLC has been working to acquire Trumbull Regional Medical Center and Hillside Rehabilitation Hospital. Its CEO, Benjamin Yates, completed medical school rotations at Trumbull Regional.
The group said it plans “to convert these hospitals into nonprofits.” It expressed interest in purchasing some of Steward Health’s hospitals in May and after several delays, it entered negotiations to acquire the Trumbull, Hillside, and Sharon hospitals, the release stated.
“Despite the challenges, including unrealistic deadlines imposed on us, which we met, we remained focused on our goal,” the release stated. “When there was a threat of a shutdown announcement in July, we were approached to stop it and successfully prevented that through a heartfelt appeal, imminent proof of funds and Congressional support.”
The release goes on to say Steward gave Yates Medical Group less than 24 hours to pay $1 million to stop the August shutdown announcement and save the hospital.
“We miraculously got the money together but were asked by the consulting firm and their legal representatives not to pay it and to state that we were working together,” the release said. “For reasons unbeknown to us we were not given the hospitals.”
YMG informed interim operator Medical Properties Trust last week it has the working funds to run the hospital, purchase the land and take over as interim operators.
“With other parties only being interim operators at this point in time, we have increased our offer to MPT on the purchase of the operations and the land of these hospitals to a price that no one else appears to have offered,” the release said.
The group also stated the offer includes “reopening a much-needed hospital that was shut down a few years ago, that will serve Trumbull, Mahoning, Portage, Stark and Columbiana counties.”
First News will continue to update this story.