Judge throws out suit to reopen Pa. hospital

PITTSBURGH (AP) — A western Pennsylvania judge says residents opposed to the closing of a community hospital have no legal standing to sue to reopen it.

That is the decision from Judge Gene Strassburger of Allegheny County Common Pleas Court. In his ruling Monday, Judge Strassburger threw out the lawsuit by a group called “Save Our Community Hospitals.”

UPMC closed the 123-bed hospital Jan. 31 because it was losing money. Opponents protested the closing, saying the hospital was a vital community resource and the town’s largest employer.

Judge Strassburger says opponents have no legal standing to protest the hospital’s closing since UPMC never made any agreement to keep it open.