Panelists discuss future of health care in Youngstown after Northside

YOUNGSTOWN

The future of health care in Youngstown will focus more on prevention and education aimed at keeping people healthy and out of the hospital.

That is the consensus of a panel convened by the City Club of the Mahoning Valley for a forum Tuesday night at Stambaugh Auditorium to discuss “New Direction after Northside: The Future of Healthcare in Youngstown.”

The panelists, all of whom had personal connections to Northside Regional Medical Center, were pediatrician Dr. Ronald Dwinnells, chief executive officer of One Health Ohio; Leigh Greene, director of minority health in Youngstown; and Atty. Patricia Sweeney, Mahoning County District Board of Health commissioner.

Mercy Health declined an invitation to participate in the panel discussion, said Lynn Bilal, club project director.

The event was moderated by Sarah Taylor, broadcast and digital editor of WKSU, who set the scene.

Taylor said more than 5,200 hospitals in the country, such as Northside, are considered community hospitals ... that are vital to the local economies of their respective communities and are the first line of defense when they are faced with health threats and emergencies such as the current opioid crisis.

That is why Northside Regional Medical Center’s closing in September was such a shock to Youngstown, she said.

Read more about the event in Wednesday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.