EORH bought, set to reopen
MARTINS FERRY — During 2020, members of the Martins Ferry community and beyond got the news they had been hoping and praying for — that the shuttered East Ohio Regional Hospital had been purchased by someone willing to reopen it.
In fall 2019, EORH employees learned their hospital was going to be closed by then-owner Alecto Health Care Services of California. Alecto had already closed EORH’s sister facility, Ohio Valley Medical Center, in Wheeling. Both properties were owned by Medical Properties Trust of Alabama.
Months passed with city leaders saying there were various groups trying to strike a deal to purchase the Martins Ferry facility. Finally in May it was announced Dayton-based psychiatrist Dr. John Johnson had purchased it, and planned to re-open it as a hospital again.
Johnson hired a past leader of the facility — Bernie Albertini — as its chief operating officer and the work began to hire the remainder of the administrative team that would help get the facility ready to reopen.
Albertini and other hospital officials initially were hoping to have the hospital up and running by year’s end. But they are now shooting for a later date.
“The reopening of EORH remains on-track and we are targeting January of 2021,” attorney Michael Garrison said on Tuesday. “We are finalizing the scheduling of our regulatory reviews with federal and state officials and will have additional exciting announcements in the next few weeks.”
Albertini said in previous reports that trying to reopen a hospital in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic was proving somewhat difficult. The biggest challenge early on was contacting vendors needed for various equipment.
Meanwhile, Garrison said EORH’s new reopening plan would not have any impact on a tax-related agreement it has with the city of Martins Ferry.
Martins Ferry Law Director Paul Stecker on Wednesday agreed with Garrison that the hospital’s plan to reopen in January instead of December does not impact the tax agreement.
“They just won’t qualify for the credit for this year. Once they meet the requirements, which I believe they should in 2021, they will qualify for and receive the credit,” Stecker said.
Last July, Martins Ferry City Council approved an ordinance that called for giving income tax proceeds back to East Ohio Regional Hospital. The agreement states the city will give EORH back 75 percent of the money generated by the 1 percent income tax collected from the hospital workers.
Those who live or work in Martins Ferry are required to pay 1 percent of their income to the city. It is the city’s largest source of revenue, accounting for typically more than $1 million a year. However, since the hospital’s closure last fall by Alecto, money generated from the income tax has fallen. The city’s deal with EORH on the income tax will last for 10 years.
Attached to the ordinance was a Job Tax Agreement, which stipulated the hospital must create 200 to 650 jobs during the 10 years.
The hospital also is required to submit progress reports annually to the city that includes information about how many full-time workers are employed and how the money has been used. The money can only be used for permanent improvements, not operating costs or movable equipment.
The agreement also notes the hospital must show it has sufficient funding, in addition to the income tax credit, to complete the re-opening of EORH. The city also wants the hospital to at least attempt to hire unemployed and underemployed Martins Ferry residents, according to the agreement.
The city also is requiring that Johnson not transfer ownership or control of EORH to any other company, including any parent, subsidiary or affiliate of his company, East Ohio Hospital LLC. The agreement also states the hospital must be operated in the city for at least twice the number of years as the term of the income tax credit, which would be 20 years.
There are some consequences for various provisions not met by the hospital. For example, if the hospital does not hire the required number of workers, the city can reduce the amount of income tax money it gets back. If the problem continues, the city can terminate the agreement.