AFT President Randi Weingarten on Planned Closure of Hospital in Youngstown, Ohio

WASHINGTON—Statement by Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers—the parent union of the Ohio Nurses Association—on the announcement today that Steward Health Care plans to close Northside Regional Medical Center in Youngstown, Ohio:

“Steward Health Care bought Northside Regional Medical Center just over one year ago, and now in a cruel, callous move that will hurt the Youngstown, Ohio, community, it plans to close the hospital.

“When it bought Northside, Steward promised to work with the Ohio Nurses Association and rebuild the hospital; now it has abandoned that promise, putting its profits over patient care. Steward Health Care, which in turn is owned by the New York hedge fund Cerberus Capital Management, crassly wants to consolidate its profits by closing Northside and directing patients to its two other area hospitals. The Youngstown community has depended on Northside for accessible, high-quality care since 1929, and is now being abandoned because of the almighty bottom line. This is a sad commentary on the state of the healthcare industry today.”