MARTINS FERRY — East Ohio Regional Hospital will be shuttering its long term care and skilled nursing facility in the near future, hospital officials informed EORH staff.

In an email to staff obtained by The Intelligencer and Wheeling News-Register, the move was part of its efforts to “prioritize patient care” and will allow the organization to “refocus resources and energy on the care and delivery of acute medicine.”

According to the email, the hospital is working to relocate residents of the long term care facility and assist employees with transferring their employment elsewhere.

The long term care and skilled nursing facility “will remain fully staffed while placement arrangements are being coordinated to ensure quality care for the residents and appropriate support for their families and caregivers,” the email from Chief Operating Officer Julie Ross states.

The email also urged employees to notify the hospital’s human resources department if they are interested in any positions listed on the company’s “careers” page online.

This development comes after EORH employees were informed by The Health Plan via an email obtained by The Intelligencer and Wheeling News-Register that their membership in the insurance company had been terminated effective Feb. 17 due to “financial obligations not being met” by the hospital.

Ross could not be reached for comment Monday evening.

The hospital also has dealt with payroll issues twice since August, delaying paychecks to some employees. The payroll delay in August was due to payroll processing issues, according to hospital officials as well as officials from its bank. Another payroll delay in December was blamed on a mistake by the hospital’s payroll provider.

EORH reopened its doors under new ownership in February 2021 after its doors were shut in 2019 by previous owners Alecto Healthcare Services of California. Alecto had also bought and shut down Ohio Valley Medical Center. Dr. John Johnson, a Dayton-based psychiatrist and entrepreneur, bought EORH from Alecto in 2020.