Is it time for Lawrence County to have a full-service hospital? At Tuesday’s commissioners meeting a question from a citizen prompted commissioners to talk about the possibility of improving health care access to the community.
In the wake of the closing of Our Lady of Bellefonte in Ashland, Les Boggs of Coal Grove, suggested it might be time to expand the existing St. Mary’s ER at the hospital’s Ironton Campus into a full-service facility. He reminded the audience that when the campus opened in 2012, officials said they would consider the possibility of expanding eight or nine years down the line if ‘the numbers looked good.’ With OLBH closing its doors, he asked if it wasn’t time to consider the possibility.
Commission President DeAnna Holliday agreed. She said the commissioners have always had a great relationship with St. Mary’s and consider them a valuable partner in the community. “With the changing climate in healthcare here in Lawrence County now might be the time to move in a different direction.”
She said the commissioners would draft a letter to St. Mary’s officials and ask for a meeting to discuss the possibility of expanding the Ironton Campus and other solutions to the gaps caused by the closing of the 214-bed Ashland hospital. Over 1000 workers will lose their job in the closing, though many have already been offered jobs by St. Mary’s, King’s Daughters, Southern Ohio Medical Center, and Cabell Wayne hospitals. Commissioners decided to pass a formal resolution in favor of drafting a letter to request a meeting.