BEDFORD, Ohio — It seemed like the permanent closure of UH’s Bedford Medical Center was a done deal, but the city of Bedford isn’t going down without a fight.
“We met with University Hospital officials on Monday and gave them one more chance to give us just a couple more weeks and they told us no,” said Bedford Mayor Stan Koci.
News 5 obtained a restraining order filed by the City of Bedford against University Hospitals in hopes of blocking Friday’s scheduled closure.
“It’s going to affect people the hospital has been here almost 100 years, people know it’s here and what are people going to do that arent coming by rescue squad that are driving a family member in and they are going to pull up to a door that’s closed,” said Koci.
Back on July 14, University Hospitals first announced it would be closing its
Bedford and Richmond hospitals on Aug. 12 citing limited resources, staffing challenges, and patient volume.
But Mayor Koci said he had no idea this was happening until the day it was announced.
“We sat down with the hospital monthly for at least the past year and every time we talked, they said that we had nothing to worry about, they would be here and then out of the blew they told us that they would be closing,” said Koci.
According to the restraining order, the closure would not only create a nearly $1-million-dollar loss in annual tax revenue, but also make Bedford a healthcare desert.
“There’s a lot in this the fire chief has to get with the other area chiefs and work out logistics, it’s not just our community, it’s a lot of communities and affects a lot of people,” said Koci.
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