CONNEAUT – A report released in March listed University Hospital Conneaut Medical Center as one of nearly 450 hospitals in the country at risk of reducing services or closing as a result of cuts enacted by the “One Big Beautiful Bill.”
University Hospitals issued a statement refuting the report.
“UH Conneaut Medical Center is not currently at risk of closure and there have been no layoffs since the passage of the bill,” the UH statement said. “Like all healthcare systems, we are concerned that future reductions in Medicaid will impact our ability to provide care to the most vulnerable. That is why we have been engaged in ongoing discussions with state and federal lawmakers about the topic. High labor costs, inflation and supply chain challenges are just some of the issues that healthcare systems face across the state and country. We remain committed to providing care to residents in Ashtabula County and across Northeast Ohio.”
The report, issued by Public Citizen, a nonprofit, progressive consumer rights advocacy group and think tank based in Washington D.C., listed UH Conneaut Medical Center as one of nine Ohio hospitals that get at least 20 percent of their revenue from Medicaid and low-income government programs and have posted negative net profit margins on average from 2022 to 2024.
“(My first reaction to the report) was to go to the source,” Conneaut City Manager Nick Sanford said. “(The source) is at the bottom (of the article reporting on it). I’m of the opinion that, when there’s an air of concern in the community, whether that be through word of mouth, social media or regular media, you go to the source. I’m fortunate, in my position, to be able do that. Rather than make a spectacle of opinion, which people tend to do in this day and age, it’s best to go to the horse’s mouth.”
The bill, signed by President Donald Trump on July 4, 2025, will cut $911 billion in federal Medicaid and CHIP spending over the next decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
The list of Ohio hospitals named by the Public Citizen report included UH Conneaut Medical Center; Coshocton Regional Medical Center in Coshocton; Twin City Hospital in Dennison; Mercy Regional Medical Center in Lorain; Mary Rutan Hospital in Bellefontaine; Greene Memorial Hospital in Xenia; Euclid Hospital in Euclid; South Pointe Hospital in Warrensville Heights; and Marymount Hospital in Garfield Heights.
The authors of the report noted the list is “descriptive rather than predictive — it does not forecast closures but identifies the hospitals most financially vulnerable to the law’s Medicaid cuts.”
Dr. Robyn Strosaker, University Hospitals’ chief operating officer for the Eastern Market, made it clear that University Hospitals did not contribute anything to an article written using the Public Citizen report and had no plans to reduce services or close hospitals.
“We obviously didn’t contribute anything to that article,” Strosaker said. “They used publicly available information in maybe not the best form. This hospital is incredibly important to our community. We’re very focused on doing the things that we do very well here that provide those services to our community, and we’re very focused on assuring that we’re doing them in a way that protects our margins so that we can continue to be here and serve the community.”
“That wasn’t anything we said,” Strosaker continued. “We’ve got no plans to do that. We’ve not cut jobs or done anything like that and, in fact, we’re doubling down on the things we do well. We’ve got a really phenomenal Swing rehab unit here. We do a phenomenal job. We just expanded some of our pain offerings over the last year, and we’re looking to continue to let that grow, so no, we’re not planning on making cuts.”
Sanford, who has been in conversations with Jonathan Sague, chief operating officer of UH Conneaut, Geneva and Geauga medical centers, since the report and subsequent article were released, was happy to know University Hospitals will not be reducing services or closing hospitals.
“It asserts my confidence in University Hospitals,” Sanford said. “It asserts my conversations with Jonathan Sague, and it asserts that I have relationships with the right people. It also asserts my gut feeling to go look at the source.”
“I’m glad they’re doubling down (on what they do well),” Sanford continued. “They should be very proud of themselves. I do want to extend my gratitude for their openness to have these conversations.”
Moving forward, Sanford will continue to advocate for UH Conneaut Medical Center as well as for the safety services and public service organizations in Conneaut as well as the surrounding communities, including those in western Pennsylvania.
“I will continue to advocate for an institution that’s been here since 1919 and the public services here in Conneaut and in the surrounding townships as well as western Pennsylvania who continue to help the people in their most vulnerable of times and I’ll move on,” Sanford said. “What’s critical in our roles as public officials is having good solid relationships with these organizations, which I am fortunate to have with University Hospitals and University Hospitals Conneaut Medical Center because of our geographical location related to the Cleveland metro area, which is the nucleus of medicine globally, while we are among the thousands on a bit of an island in rural medicine. We’re blessed to have them at UH Conneaut Medical Center.”
The cuts to Medicaid funding affect all of the facilities in the University Hospitals system.
“(The bill) affects all of our hospitals,” Strosaker said. “At UH, we’re really trying to assure that we are helping our community members stay enrolled in Medicaid. That’s going to be, obviously, an issue for us, and it’s a big focus for us to make sure that we’ve got resources in the community, and we’re working with community partners so that we can assure that our community members have what they need to stay enrolled in Medicaid, because, obviously, if they don’t, there’s two worries. One is that people will stop seeking care and then we’re going to see them when they’re really, really sick, and they might not have as good of an outcome. That’s an issue and, obviously, it’s a revenue issue for the hospitals, as well, but it’s a public health issue.”
Of the hospitals listed, UH Conneaut Medical Center and Twin City Hospital are critical access hospitals — rural facilities with 25 or fewer beds located a large distance from other hospitals – and vital to their communities.
“Conneaut, obviously, is remote, and the nearest health care facility is a 25-minute drive-plus away from here,” Strosaker said. “When patients need care, they want to do it close to home so that it’s easy for their family members to get here if they need inpatient care, and in a true emergency, it’s really important to have access to care close. We know how important that is to the community. This is also quite a big source of employment for Conneaut, which also serves the community, and we know how important that is.”
People with concerns about losing access to Medicaid can contact the staff at UH Conneaut Medical Center.
“If they’ve got any concerns, certainly, anybody here at the hospital is happy to talk to them about that,” Strosaker said. “Like I said, for Medicaid, if folks are worried that they’re going to fall off the Medicaid enrollment, we’re here to help, and we’re here to help assure that we’re doing everything we can to keep their access.”
Strosaker stressed that UH Conneaut Medical Center is not reducing services or closing as a result of the bill.
“I think the biggest thing is, really, that we are very committed to serving the Conneaut community,” Strosaker said. “We’ve been here a very long time, and we’re doing everything in our power to assure that we can continue to do that.”
