Rep. Sweeney Blasts GOP Budgets After MetroHealth Announces Closure of Six Outpatient Offices

CLEVELAND – State Rep. Bride Rose Sweeney (D-Westlake) today released the following statement in response to MetroHealth’s announcement that it will close six outpatient offices as part of its budget stabilization plan:

“MetroHealth is Greater Cleveland’s safety net — the hospital that never turns anyone away. The fact that they are being forced to close six outpatient clinics should alarm every Ohioan. This is what happens when Republicans at both the Statehouse and in Congress push budgets that protect tax breaks for the wealthy while underfunding healthcare for working families.

Right now, MetroHealth is providing more than a million dollars a day in charity care — because too many Ohioans are uninsured or underinsured. Instead of addressing that crisis, Republicans have slashed Medicaid reimbursements, underfunded hospitals, and walked away from their responsibility to support safety-net providers.

The pain families are feeling today was inevitable because it's the direct result of Republican budget choices. They had no problem finding $1.6 billion to hand out to millionaires and billionaires in Ohio, but not a dime to help MetroHealth keep its doors open in Broadview Heights, Medina, Rocky River, North Royalton, Old Brooklyn, or Westlake. Their vastly misplaced priorities caused them to be unable to properly fund childcare, public health, or the hospitals that keep our communities alive.

Let’s be clear: this is not about efficiency, it’s about priorities. And Republicans have made theirs loud and clear — corporations and the wealthy get a handout, while working families are left with fewer doctors, fewer clinics, and fewer options for care.

I will keep fighting for budgets that put Ohio families first — by investing in healthcare, childcare, and the services that truly build a stronger economy. MetroHealth and hospitals like it deserve a partner in government, not a state that turns its back on them. We can’t forget that it doesn’t have to be this way,” said Rep. Sweeney.

According to MetroHealth, six outpatient offices will be closing effective Friday, October 3:

• Broadview Heights Sports Medicine & Physical Therapy
• Dental clinic at Old Brooklyn Medical Center
• Medina Health Center
• Rocky River Medical Offices
• State Road Family Practice
• Westlake Physical Therapy at West Shore Family YMCA

The office closures come just weeks after MetroHealth laid off about 125 employees.