Union expresses cautious optimism about Wilkes-Barre General Hospital sale approval

The union representing more than 250 Wilkes-Barre General Hospital nurses and certified registered nurse anesthetists expressed cautious optimism Thursday in a statement about Tenor Health Foundation’s success in obtaining state approval to purchase the hospital.

The nonprofit Tenor announced Wednesday it secured the required Pennsylvania Department of Health approval to acquire Wilkes-Barre General and two Lackawanna County hospitals — Regional Hospital of Scranton and Moses Taylor Hospital — from their for-profit owner, Commonwealth Health, which is a subsidiary of Community Health Systems.

“We are relieved to see Community Health Systems’ exit from Pennsylvania and hopeful that Tenor Health Foundation will take a different path — one that restores and preserves critical health care services for the people of Northeast Pennsylvania,” said the statement from the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals, or PASNAP.

“After years of instability, caregivers and patients at Wilkes-Barre General Hospital deserve leadership focused on community needs, not short-term profit,” the statement said.

Commonwealth Health purchased Wilkes-Barre General in 2009. In recent years, the company has significantly scaled back services, abruptly ending inpatient and delivery services in July 2023.

A previous attempt to sell the properties fell through in November 2024, when the nonprofit Woodbridge Healthcare announced it had failed to secure financing for $180 million in tax-exempt bonds.

Tenor Chief Executive Officer and founder Radha Savitala told Luzerne County Council in November her nonprofit was established to own and operate financially struggling hospitals, ensuring access to health care in communities where there is a risk of competition or hospital shutdowns.

PASNAP said it will be “watching closely and engaging actively to ensure this transition prioritizes patient care, workforce stability, and transparency.”

“Tenor has an opportunity to do the right thing: to invest in safe staffing, stabilize services, and work in good faith with the nurses and health care workers who have kept these hospitals running through uncertainty and upheaval,” it said.

The statement includes a comment from registered nurse Joyce Sciandra, a Coronary Care Unit Nurse at Wilkes-Barre General and president of the Wyoming Valley Nurses Association, which is part of PASNAP.

“Staff who have been here since before CHS took over are feeling nostalgic, remembering a time when our hospital was a top-notch, leading healthcare institution,” Sciandra said. “While ownership and administration have changed over the years, one thing has remained constant: the dedication of our staff. It is our people who continue to deliver exceptional, specialized, and compassionate care to our patients. Patients have always been our priority, and we hope Tenor wants to return to that standard again.”

PASNAP, which represents more than 11,000 frontline caregivers across the state, said Wilkes-Barre General’s future “must be built with — and not at the expense of — the caregivers and communities who rely on them.”

In Lackawanna County, the SEIU Healthcare PA union released a statement from Corinne Cianfichi, an occupational therapist with more than 30 years of service at Regional and Moses Taylor hospitals, and the Chapter President of SEIU Healthcare PA.

Health care workers at Regional Hospital, which includes the Moses Taylor Campus, are “hopeful and relieved” the state approved “a deal to keep our hospital open,” it said.

”Our hospital is absolutely essential for the health and economy of our entire area. Now we finally have clarity on a direction for the next chapter of this hospital and our future,” Cianfichi said.

The statement also credited hospital workers for their dedication.

”Through tough working conditions, fear and anxiety, we stuck by our patients’ side because we believe deeply in providing quality care for our community. Our community stuck by our side as well, and we are so grateful to them and the elected officials who made this deal happen. Together with our community and government leaders, we advocated tirelessly and relentlessly through our union to save Regional,” the statement said.

It indicated Tenor has agreed to honor the union contract.

”We expect Tenor to work hard and invest resources, and we will work hard to take care of our patients and make our hospital successful,” Cianfichi said. “We look forward to working with Tenor to preserve and expand a full range of services and good, family-sustaining jobs, so we can provide the quality health care our community deserves.”

County response

Luzerne County Manager Romilda Crocamo said the state’s approval of Tenor’s application is significant because it “removes the uncertainty of the hospitals’ future, knowing that CHS wants to exit Pennsylvania.”

“Tenor Health, as a nonprofit, will bring Wilkes-Barre General Hospital and the other hospitals in Scranton into a nonprofit status, making them viable community assets,” Crocamo said. “We believe the residents and patients will benefits from this change of ownership.”