BELMONT COUNTY, Ohio – The East Ohio Regional Hospital (EORH) saga continues with a new bankruptcy filing by former workers demanding unpaid wages. The former healthcare facility’s situation has become even more complex over the years since the hospital’s first closure in 2019.
Law firms representing employees who were left unpaid by the facility’s previous owner filed an involuntary bankruptcy petition on August 28, 2025. This legal action seeks to move the workers’ unpaid wage claims into priority status to place them ahead of other creditors while the court determines how the hospital’s remaining assets will be distributed. The former employees are represented by Columbus, Ohio law firm Barkan, Meizlish, DeRose LLP and Moundsville, West Virginia law firm Gold, Khourey & Turak.
East Ohio Regional Hospital in Martins Ferry, Ohio has struggled with financial instability and closures that date back six years. The current legal battle stems from its abrupt closure in spring 2025 under the leadership of Dr. John Johnson.
EORH first closed in September 2019 after its then-owner, Alecto Healthcare Services, shut down operations along with closing Ohio Valley Medical Center (OVMC) in Wheeling, West Virginia. EORH later reopened in late 2020 under new ownership by Dr. Johnson. Financial and legal issues connected to the prior ownership have continued to surface, including the current bankruptcy petition over unpaid wages.
The most recent closure of East Ohio Regional Hospital occurred on March 20, 2025, when the facility officially shut its doors a second time and posted signs directing patients to seek care at nearby hospitals.
East Ohio Regional Hospital (EORH) is now being acquired by 360 Healthcare Inc., whose president, Harold Ramsey, claimed in June that he planned to reopen the facility under its original name in fall 2025. However, the property remains in foreclosure status pending resolution of the back taxes owed to Belmont County, Ohio, now estimated at approximately $1.6 million.
EORH’s legal troubles are not limited to bankruptcy. In August, Belmont Savings Bank in Bellaire, Ohio filed a lawsuit in Belmont County Common Pleas Court seeking repayment of two million dollars in loans from East Ohio Regional Hospital.
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