WHEELING, W.Va. (WTRF) – Ohio Valley Medical Center and East Ohio Regional Hospital have released the following statement:

“Ohio Valley Medical Center in Wheeling, West Virginia (OVMC) and East Ohio Regional Hospital in Martins Ferry, Ohio (EORH) today announced that after a thorough evaluation of all available options, losses of more than $37 million over the past two years, and an exhaustive but unsuccessful search for a strategic partner or buyer, OVMC and EORH have decided to begin the process to close both OVMC and EORH. OVMC and EORH will immediately begin working with federal, state, and local agencies to develop a definitive timeline for the closure of both facilities. The closure process for facilities like OVMC and EORH typically takes 60 to 90 days and OVMC and EORH will share a definitive timeline with all interested parties in the coming days. The decision to begin the closure process was based on, among other things, the following factors:

OVMC, EORH, and their physician practices have lost more than $37 million over the past 2 years as they struggled to overcome declining volumes, declining reimbursement, and the substantial harm caused by the conduct alleged by the Government in United States of America ex. rel. Louis Longo v. Wheeling Hospital, Inc., R & V Associates, LTD., and Ronald L. Violi, United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia Case No. 5:19-cv-00192-JPB.

OVMC and EORH have been unable to compete with Wheeling Hospital and its business practices including, without limitation, those alleged in United States of America ex. rel. Louis Longo v. Wheeling Hospital, Inc., R & V Associates, LTD., and Ronald L. Violi, United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia Case No. 5:19-cv-00192-JPB.

OVMC requires substantial improvement to its physical plant and the continued losses at OVMC and EORH do not leave funds available to complete such improvements.

Despite their exhaustive efforts to identify a strategic partner or buyer for OVMC and/or EORH, which included discussions with more than 15 different national, regional, and local healthcare systems or providers, OVMC and EORH have been unable to locate a strategic partner or buyer for one or both of the facilities.

As they begin the closure process, OVMC and EORH will also continue their efforts to identify opportunities, alternatives, and options for both facilities. OVMC and EORH will also work closely with their employers, physicians, and patients as well as community leaders to ensure orderly closure process for both facilities. “

UPDATE: 6:45 PM: 7News has received the Q & A forms that employees from OVMC and EORH received during their meeting. Take a look below.

UPDATE 5:45 PM: According to an OVMC employee, both OVMC and East Regional Hospital are closing.

The process is currently starting to close the doors of both hospitals.

There will be various forums throughout the week that will give a more outlined detail of the process.

Officials at OVMC and East Regional Hospital are set to make an announcement after what WTRF.com was told is an informational meeting.

The meeting starts at 5:30 PM with both employees and officials present.

WTRF.com will receive a full press release following the meeting

Alecto Healthcare Services bought the hospitals back on June 1st of 2017.

Then in March of 2019– nearly 2 years after the purchase–, layoffs were announced. It affected 70 of the hospitals’ 1,200 employees.

A month after that, Officials released a letter to employees saying they were looking for strategic partnerships with other health systems.

That same letter also said the company was looking for additional financing to address revenue shortfalls.

7News is on the scene and will have coverage throughout the night.

WTRF.com will update this story as it progresses