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EORH emergency room may close Friday

MARTINS FERRY — It appears East Ohio Regional Hospital may close sooner than anticipated, but parent company Alecto Health Services said Wednesday that the company is talking to some “folks interested in the hospital.”

While a deadline of Oct. 7 was set as the anticipated final day of operation for East Ohio Regional Hospital, word was spreading through the community and on social media Wednesday about an earlier closure of the facility’s emergency room. An employee who answered a call to the emergency department Wednesday confirmed that the ER is set to close on Friday.

Martins Ferry EMS Director Dave Snyder also said he called the hospital Wednesday and that his source, who asked to remain anonymous, told him the ER would not be taking any new admissions after 3 p.m. Wednesday, and that the EMS would have to call ahead regarding their patients so the ER could screen them. Those they could not take care of would have to be diverted to another facility.

“They would not elaborate on an exact date,” Snyder said of the ER’s complete closure. “The administration isn’t talking to anybody. No one knows what is going on.”

Snyder said he is concerned about the future of emergency medical care in the region.

“This is terrible. We have to face the facts. With Ohio Valley Medical Center gone and East Ohio closing, this puts a lot of pressure on EMS crews. This puts a lot of lives in jeopardy. People are going to die because of this — that’s to be as blunt as possible. People are going to die through this. We’ve got the interstate project that’s going to start in West Virginia. It’s going to be a traffic nightmare,” Snyder said.

Still, Snyder said his EMS service has a protocol in place: Go to the nearest hospital first and then on to others if necessary, such as WVU Medicine Reynolds Memorial in Glen Dale, WVU Medicine Barnesville Hospital or Trinity Health System in Steubenville.

“Until we get official word we will still operate as usual. If people request to go to East Ohio, we will ask if they are accepting them,” he said. “If we don’t have a clear choice, we will go to Wheeling Hospital because it is the closest hospital. They are handling it so far, but the full effect has not hit them yet.”

Snyder noted once an ambulance goes out of the city, it likely will be an hour and a half before it comes back to Martins Ferry.

“We are the second-busiest EMS in Belmont County,” Snyder said. “This is going to put a strain on us financially. It means more fuel, more wages and wear and tear on vehicles.”

Martins Ferry Police Chief John McFarland on Wednesday described Alecto’s lack of communication with the community and first responders as strange. He said he had not heard about the ER closing any sooner than anticipated, but noted he has never spoken directly to any hospital officials regarding the hospital’s closure, nor had he received any official information about it.

“There are a lot of adjustments we’re going to have to make. If we have to arrest someone on a violent crime and they need medical treatment, we’re going to have to transport them to Trinity or Barnesville Hospital. We have a lot of things we’re looking at,” he said.

McFarland noted the public also needs to know exactly when the ER might close.

“There are a lot of situations where people drive directly to the hospital. If it is closed, people need to know,” he said.

When The Times Leader called the main hospital phone number Wednesday, a receptionist said EORH’s administrator needed to address the question. However, when the administration office was called, it referred questions regarding the ER to Mike Sarrao of Alecto, which owns EORH and the now-closed Ohio Valley Medical Center in Wheeling.

Sarrao said Wednesday he did not know if the ER would be closing on Friday and that he would have to talk to the local officials in Ohio about this. He said he would know more Thursday.

He noted that, as planned, the hospital is progressively shutting down.

“We can’t turn it off in one day,” he said.

On a positive note, Sarrao said the company is talking to some “folks interested in the hospital.” He did not identify those prospects, but Alecto and local officials have been working to find a buyer for the facility. Daniel Dunmyer, president and CEO of EORH and OVMC, could not be reached for comment.

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