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East Ohio Regional Hospital May Close ER This Week

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 EORH, 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 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 its 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.”

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, who is based in California, said Wednesday he did not know if the ER would be closing 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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