File Photo East Ohio Regional Hospital is headed to auction.

MARTINS FERRY – East Ohio Regional Hospital will be going to auction this summer.

On April 16, Belmont County Common Pleas Judge Chris Berhalter ordered the sale of the property.

Belmont County Treasurer Katherine Kelich said that whoever wins the bid for the hospital will be on the hook for approximately $2.1 million in back taxes that have accrued over the last few years.

“That’s where the starting bid will be and it’s all taxes, so nothing will go for a discount,” Kelich said. “It has to be paid within 30 days of the date of that sale. They’ll pay 10% down at the time of the sale, and then they’ll have 30 days to pay the remaining balance.”

Belmont County filed for tax foreclosures on the property in 2025.

“It does take a long time for procedural purposes,” Kelich said. “Ohio Revised Code dictates how we have to do these and there were so many lien holders on the property that we had to advise them, and then they got involved. Then the bankruptcy was filed by East Ohio LLC, which had a competing lease on the old hospital from Access Martins Ferry.”

Kelich said the county had to wait for the hospital to be released from bankruptcy in order to go forward on the tax foreclosure.

She added that — although the county has no sway in who purchases the property or what they do with it once purchased — she hopes a hospital will open on that property.

“We are in dire need of more medical facilities,” she said. “We are in dire need of a hospital. Because even though we do have a few hospitals in the area, they are always full. If you go to the emergency room at any point in time, they’re always full.

“We need to make sure that our people are receiving the best medical care that they can,” Kelich continued.

The date of the auction has yet to be set but it will be handled by the Belmont County Sheriff’s Office.

The upcoming auction will be the latest step in the struggles of East Ohio Regional Hospital, as two attempts to reopen the facility ultimately have failed. The hospital originally was closed in 2019 by Alecto Healthcare Services, a California-based company that also bought and closed Ohio Valley Medical Center in Wheeling. Dr. John Johnson then purchased the hospital in 2020 and reopened it in 2021.

Yet that resurrection was short-lived. Significant financial issues again reared their heads, as the hospital closed several departments and employees started missing multiple paychecks. The hospital closed again in March 2025 after dozens of employees filed police reports with the Martins Ferry Police Department, claiming both unpaid insurance claims and unpaid wages.

Yet, in June 2025, it was announced that 360 Healthcare Inc., led by company president Harold Ramsey purchased the LLC to Access Martins Ferry from Johnson with plans to once again reopen the hospital.

“But there were competing leases from previous owners, Access Martins Ferry, EOH LLC, and MPT Martins Ferry still had a competing lease,” Kelich said. “So these leases were constantly going back and forth, which actually kind of caused a lot more red tape,” Kelich said.

Multiple lawsuits and money issues also plagued 360 Healthcare Inc.’s attempt to reopen the hospital. As it has remained closed, the hospital property has been subject to multiple break-ins and thefts.

Kelich said that, despite Access Martins Ferry still technically owning the property, the county will be selling it due to the back taxes, which means the company will receive no monies from the sale.

“I’m essentially a glorified debt collector,” Kelich said. “I have to collect the debt. If you go without paying, then it goes to a tax foreclosure. Much like a bank, when you don’t pay your mortgage, a bank can come in and foreclose on your property to seize up that debt. It’s the same idea.”