{"id":102336,"date":"2026-02-01T15:20:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-01T15:20:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/102336\/"},"modified":"2026-02-01T15:20:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-01T15:20:14","slug":"staff-community-leaders-cautiously-optimistic-as-deal-nears","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/102336\/","title":{"rendered":"Staff, community leaders cautiously optimistic as deal nears"},"content":{"rendered":"

Employees at three Northeast Pennsylvania hospitals breathed a sigh of relief last week when the state approved plans for an acquisition<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s been a very stressful year, maybe even going into two years now of worrying about is somebody gonna buy us? What’s gonna happen,” said Corinne Cianfichi, an occupational therapist at Regional Hospital in Scranton and the president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Healthcare PA union chapter there.<\/p>\n

Tenor Health Foundation wants to purchase Regional, along with Moses Taylor Hospital in Scranton and Wilkes-Barre General Hospital, from their current owners, Community Health Systems, which operates locally as Commonwealth Health System (CHS). <\/p>\n

But staff at the financially struggling hospitals<\/a> were left in uncomfortable limbo after a 2024 purchase deal from a different buyer fell through<\/a>. <\/p>\n

“All the not knowing and a lot of disappointments for the past two years, thinking you\u2019re getting bought and then you’re not, and it’s just been like a roller coaster,\u201d Cianfichi said.<\/p>\n

That was followed by nearly a year of uncertainty until Tenor publicly emerged as a second potential buyer in August 2025<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A deal was signed in October<\/a>, but another anxiety-filled five months would pass before last week’s news that state health officials had given their required blessing to the transfer of ownership.<\/p>\n

Officials have not yet publicly announced a closing date, but a CHS spokesperson said both parties are working “to finalize the transaction as quickly and as smoothly as possible,” a position echoed by Tenor’s leadership.<\/p>\n

While a resolution finally appears close at hand, the long period of uncertainty has left its mark on the staff.<\/p>\n

\u201cWorking conditions are tough when you are worrying about the future of your hospital, and am I going to have a job? Am I going to have a paycheck? A lot of staff have left,” Cianfichi said. <\/p>\n

“Nurses, doctors, services have been closed, shut down,” she added. “So yes, it’s been difficult, but for the most part, the majority of us have stuck it out, and we’re positive, and we want to continue to provide care to all of our patients.”<\/p>\n

\"Commonwealth<\/p>\n

Jackson Breslin<\/p>\n

\/<\/p>\n

WVIA News<\/p>\n

Commonwealth Health is poised to sell Moses Taylor and Regional hospitals in Scranton and Wilkes-Barre General Hospital to Tenor Health Foundation.<\/p>\n

‘High expectations’ for Tenor<\/p>\n

Bob Clark, a telemetry nurse at Wilkes-Barre General and a union member of the Wyoming Valley Nurses Association chapter of the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals (PASNAP), said the latest developments have him and other staff feeling cautiously optimistic.<\/p>\n

State Rep. Bridget Kosierowski live on WVIA Radio<\/p>\n

Rep. Rob Bresnahan live on WVIA Radio<\/p>\n

Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti live on WVIA Radio<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, if the state Department of Health and the government is willing to approve of the sale that’s some reassurance for me. I have to depend on their good judgment,\u201d Clark said.<\/p>\n

He anticipates working with Tenor soon.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a contract that’s expiring with the current employer, and our union should be sitting down as soon as possible with the new owners to carve out an agreement. So I’m hoping that something along those lines will start happening as soon as possible,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

And in Scranton, employees hope Tenor focuses on reinforcing the workforce.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a lot of high expectations for Tenor,\u201d Cianfichi said. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe expect them then to do right by us, by maintaining services that we already have and expanding services that we need and bring back the doctors and the nurses and and services that we are not currently having,” she said. “We also need them to invest in our buildings and equipment and, of course, the staff.\u201d<\/p>\n

Next steps for Tenor: Sale, recruitment<\/p>\n

Tenor CEO Radha Savitala hopes for a quick closing.<\/p>\n

Once the deal is complete, Savitala said she\u2019ll be focused on patient care.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will ensure that there’s no disruption to the workforce or to patient care, and we will not only stabilize operations, but look towards executing a plan for market revitalization between the three campuses,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The two health systems will complete a private deal, so full details about financing and sale price remain unknown.<\/p>\n

According to CHS spokesperson Annmarie Poslock, Commonwealth Health currently employs 2,400 people across its three hospital locations and clinics in the region. <\/p>\n

Savitala said the biggest challenge in the transition\u2019s early stages will be recruitment.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe goal is to stabilize operations and ensure that we can recruit employees to get operations back to where they need to be,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Wilkes-Barre General no longer offers obstetric care, for example. Savitala said right now there are no plans to return a labor and delivery unit to the hospital, but that there are plans to expand access.<\/p>\n

Tenor Health Foundation<\/a> is a nonprofit “formed to identify, own, manage, and turn around financially challenged hospitals,\u201d according to its website. Tenor’s first acquisition was Sharon Regional Medical Center in Mercer County<\/a>. That hospital, previously privately owned, closed last January. It reopened under Tenor’s ownership in March<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cHealthcare is very, very local,\u201d Savitala said. \u201cI do expect different needs for the communities, but healthcare is just a very nurturing environment, but it’s also a difficult environment … But there’s just so much support that we feel in these communities, both in the Sharon area as well as in the Northeast PA area, for the continued success of these facilities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Elected officials weigh in on Tenor deal progression<\/p>\n

Cianfichi credited elected officials like state Rep. Bridget Kosierowski (D-Lackawanna) for supporting the union and all hospital workers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to thank them for standing with us and supporting us through this entire past year or so of this, because it’s been a lot, and whenever I had a call out, they always returned my calls,\u201d Cianfichi said.<\/p>\n

\"State<\/p>\n

State Rep. Bridget M. Kosierowski<\/p>\n

Kosierowski worked to help secure a new buyer since an initial deal between CHS and Woodbridge Healthcare, Inc. fell through in November 2024<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a long road,\u201d Kosierowski said in a live radio interview Wednesday with WVIA News. \u201cWe are very happy to be able to announce that the change of ownership has been approved, which means continuity of care. Continuity of care is the most important thing for our patient population here, so this is a good day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kosierowski also credited her partners through the process, including U.S. Rep. Rob Bresnahan (R-Luzerne).<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody who has been involved in this process put politics aside, and we all worked within our own respective lanes to figure out what needed to be done to get this deal to where it is today,\u201d Bresnahan said.<\/p>\n

He expects a deal very soon.<\/p>\n

\"U.S.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’re under the understanding that now it’s going to be the final closing documents, and perhaps much of the paperwork that Community Health Systems needs to then do to transfer the three hospitals to Tenor. The working plan, from what we understand, it should be, perhaps in the next few weeks,\u201d Bresnahan said.<\/p>\n

Bresnahan believes the next steps will go smoothly.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously subject to change, but as of the time that we are doing this interview, we don’t foresee or have any knowledge of anything else that could possibly derail this anymore,\u201d he said during an interview Thursday.<\/p>\n

Relief in Scranton, where hospital closure was \u2018imminent\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n

Bresnahan told WVIA News in early January that a closure notice from CHS was \u2018imminent\u2019 and \u2018dangerously close\u2019 late last summer for the Scranton hospitals.<\/p>\n

CHS was losing up to $2 million a month on the Scranton hospitals,<\/a> according to Bresnahan.<\/p>\n

A group of community organizations came together last summer to financially support the struggling hospitals<\/a>. They gave \u201cmillions of dollars\u201d over a three-month period to cover the Scranton hospitals\u2019 losses.<\/p>\n

Participating in the funding arrangement were: The Scranton Area Community Foundation, AllOne Foundation & Charities, Luzerne Foundation, Moses Taylor Foundation, NEPA Health Care Foundation, Allied Services, The Wright Center, and the Scranton Chamber of Commerce.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s been years that we’ve been worried that Regional and Moses would not be able to stay open. It’s no secret that CHS has not continued to invest for many years in those hospitals. So it is a relief that the license transfer application from Tenor Health passed the Department of Health vetting, and we look forward to hopefully a positive result for the private transaction between CHS and Tenor,\u201d Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti said.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s ready to support Tenor through the last steps.<\/p>\n

\"Scranton<\/p>\n

Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti <\/p>\n

\u201cWe have not been asked for any sort of financing through our health and welfare authority as Tenor Health did ask down in Luzerne, that’s not something that has come to us, but we’ll be here to talk with Tenor about whatever it is that they need to be successful,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Luzerne County Council in November approved Tenor\u2019s financing plan<\/a> to borrow up to $72 million in tax-exempt revenue bonds to purchase Wilkes-Barre General.<\/p>\n

Cognetti does want Tenor\u2019s board to include local input.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile we look to close this chapter, we certainly are entering another chapter where we have to make sure that there are local voices that are part of the governance structure of this new entity,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The mayor thanked hospital workers who stuck around through the confusion of the past year.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s been years now, that they haven’t known what their next month might look like, and they have stayed there to care for the people of our community, and we are grateful for that,\u201d Cognetti said.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Jackson Breslin<\/p>\n

\/<\/p>\n

WVIA News<\/p>\n

A sign outside Moses Taylor Hospital in Scranton identifies the facility as an affiliate of Commonwealth Health System. A deal selling Moses Taylor and two other CHS hospitals to Tenor Health Foundation is expected to close soon, officials said last week after Pennsylvania Department of Health officials gave their approval to an application seeking permission for the sale.<\/p>\n

Fiscal challenges and federal funding changes<\/p>\n

In fiscal 2023<\/a>, expenses outpaced revenues by 24.1% at Moses Taylor; 9.5% at Regional and 15.7% at Wilkes-Barre General, according to the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council report for that year.<\/p>\n

Regional and Moses Taylor now operate under one license. CHS consolidated their emergency rooms at Regional.<\/p>\n

According to the council’s most recent report, for fiscal 2024<\/a>, expenses outpaced revenues by 20.6% at the combined Regional Hospital of Scranton and by 6.19% at Wilkes-Barre General Hospital.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s an ongoing concern for officials. So are changes to federal health care funding expected in the coming years, including cuts to Medicaid.<\/p>\n

President Donald Trump\u2019s budget law, also commonly known as the \u201cOne Big Beautiful Bill\u201d made historic changes to the state and federally financed health program that provides health insurance to nearly 3 million Pennsylvanians<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Those covered by the program include those with disabilities, low-income families and older adults.<\/p>\n

The law implements work requirements, with exemptions for certain groups<\/a> including pregnant people, individuals with disabilities and caregivers. There will also be more frequent eligibility checks. Most of those changes go into effect on Jan. 1, 2027.<\/p>\n

According to KFF<\/a>, these changes are estimated to increase the number of uninsured Americans by 7.5 million in 2034. Federal Medicaid spending would be decreased by $911 billion over a decade<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Tenor CEO Savitala is already considering these changes when it comes to the long-term viability of the hospitals.<\/p>\n

\u201cMedicaid is already a low level reimbursement, and if that gets reduced even further, that makes it a very tough environment, especially when you’re dealing with a highly vulnerable patient population. Coupled with the lower reimbursement, I think that would have a ripple effect nationally,” she said. <\/p>\n

“We highly would advocate for no cuts, if not enhanced reimbursement, just so that we can continue to take care of these patients,\u201d Savitala added.<\/p>\n

While she is celebrating the state\u2019s approval and the impending deal, Savitala knows there\u2019s much to do.<\/p>\n

\u201cA sigh of relief, but I think that’ll be short only because the real hard work begins now post acquisition and working with the teams and boots on the ground, so we’ve got a lot of hard but important work to do, and really, this is what keeps us going,” she said.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Editor’s note: WVIA Healthcare Reporter Lydia McFarlane’s position is supported through funding from Moses Taylor Foundation, AllOne Charities, Eureka Foundation, Wayne County Community Foundation and Community Foundation of the Endless Mountains.<\/p>\n

CHS NEPA HOSPITALS’ RECENT HISTORY<\/p>\n

\u25cf 7\/30\/24: Commonwealth Health eyes $120M sale of Scranton, Wilkes-Barre hospitals to nonprofit WoodBridge<\/a><\/p>\n

\u25cf 8\/5\/24: Unions, industry observers see promise, questions in return of CHS hospitals to nonprofit status<\/a><\/p>\n

\u25cf 11\/26\/24: Commonwealth Health plan to sell Scranton, Wilkes-Barre hospitals dies after funding falls through<\/a><\/p>\n

\u25cf 12\/12\/24: ‘We don’t have much time’: Elected leaders concerned about fate of CHS hospitals in NEPA<\/a><\/p>\n

\u25cf 12\/16\/24: Kosierowski, Shapiro rep say talks to find buyer for Regional, Moses Taylor hospitals continue<\/a><\/p>\n

\u25cf 3\/10\/25: SEIU to host town hall Thursday in Scranton on fate of Regional Hospital<\/a><\/p>\n

\u25cf 3\/13\/25: State reps: Multiple potential buyers eyeing two financially troubled Scranton hospitals<\/a><\/p>\n

\u25cf 6\/28\/25: Kosierowski: Geisinger, The Wright Center among contenders to purchase Scranton CHS hospitals<\/a><\/p>\n

\u25cf 7\/9\/25: EXCLUSIVE: NEPA community foundations subsidizing struggling Scranton hospitals while sale talks continue<\/a><\/p>\n

\u25cf 7\/22\/25: Wilkes-Barre General Hospital board names Michael Clark as facility’s new permanent CEO<\/a><\/p>\n

\u25cf 8\/6\/25: Commonwealth Health signs letter of intent to sell Scranton, Wilkes-Barre hospitals to Tenor Health<\/a><\/p>\n

\u25cf 8\/8\/25: Wilkes-Barre General Hospital board opposes sale to Tenor Health, appeals to Shapiro’s office<\/a><\/p>\n

\u25cf 9\/5\/25: State Rep.: Deal to sell three NEPA hospitals possible by end of month<\/a><\/p>\n

\u25cf 10\/24\/25: Officials confirm CHS, Tenor Health sign deal for sale of Scranton, Wilkes-Barre hospitals<\/a><\/p>\n

\u25cf 11\/25\/25: Financing, payment proposals for Tenor\u2019s acquisition of Wilkes-Barre General Hospital face vote tonight from Luzerne County Council<\/a><\/p>\n

\u25cf 11\/26\/25: Luzerne County Council OKs Tenor Health’s financing proposal for Wilkes-Barre General Hospital<\/a><\/p>\n

\u25cf 1\/08\/26: CHS, Tenor waiting on Pa. Department of Health OK before they finalize NEPA hospital sale<\/a><\/p>\n

\u25cf 1\/09\/26: Bresnahan: Scranton CHS hospitals were ‘dangerously close’ to closure; foundations clarify funding position<\/a><\/p>\n

\u25cf 1\/27\/26: Tenor Health says NEPA hospital purchase deal remains under Pa. Department of Health review<\/a><\/p>\n

\u25cf 1\/28\/26: BREAKING: Pa. Health Department OKs Tenor Health acquisition application for 3 NEPA hospitals<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Employees at three Northeast Pennsylvania hospitals breathed a sigh of relief last week when the state approved plans…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":102337,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[178,180,179],"class_list":{"0":"post-102336","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-scranton","8":"tag-scranton","9":"tag-scranton-headlines","10":"tag-scranton-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102336","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=102336"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102336\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/102337"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102336"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=102336"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=102336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}