MARTINS FERRY’S new mayor, John Davies, says it is critical that East Ohio Regional Hospital re-open, especially with the coronavirus pandemic happening.

MARTINS FERRY — With public health officials saying the coronavirus epidemic is going to get worse before it gets better, it would appear every hospital bed out there should be made available, if necessary.

And that’s just what Martins Ferry officials are hoping for as they continue to work to get East Ohio Regional Hospital reopened since its closure last year by Alecto Healthcare Services. Following a Martins Ferry City Council meeting on Wednesday, Mayor John Davies said he and others have been calling state and local officials about getting the facility reopened.

Davies said Gov. Mike DeWine, R-Ohio, was contacted, along with Ohio Rep. Jack Cera, D-Bellaire; U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio; Sen. Frank Hoagland, R-Mingo Junction; and Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost.

“We’re making phone calls every day trying to get our hospital reopened,” Davies said. “We want everybody to know and all the entities to know that we are available to do anything the city can do to make it become a reality. If it took a short-term opening right now, as a stepping-stone, we would take that. We want our hospital open.”

Davies said the officials he talked to seem to be willing to help, but everyone needs to “get on the same page.”

“It’s a tough fight. People don’t understand the level that this is at, about the virus, the hospital closure. We’re in a critical state right now and we have to get that hospital open,” Davies said. “The hospital talks encompass most of our day.”

Last week Wheeling Hospital CEO Douglas Harrison said his hospital is looking at expanding its critical care bed numbers because of the coronavirus pandemic. This could include off-site locations such as EORH, he said.

Harrison said hospital officials have been in “high-level” talks with Alecto about using EORH.

He believes it could be re-opened more quickly than Ohio Valley Medical Center, which Alecto also shut down last year.

Mike Jones contributed to this report.