With one less hospital in the area, emergency medical response staff say patients could see delays. Photo by Gage Vota.

MARTINS FERRY — In response to the sudden closing of East Ohio Regional Hospital, Belmont County Department of Job and Family Services will host a rapid response meeting at 10 a.m. April 3.

The meeting will take place on the second floor of the Martins Ferry Recreation Center and is geared toward EORH employees who lost their jobs and who did not receive their paychecks in the final days of the hospital’s operation.

Prior to fully closing Thursday evening, the hospital announced the closure of its long-term care and skilled nursing facility and its pharmacy. It failed to make payroll on March 7, and employees at the site on Thursday said they still had not received any of the wages owed at that time.

“The purpose of this meeting is to provide the impacted employees an overview of available services,” a news release from DJFS Director Jeff Felton states.

Belmont County Workforce Administrator Mike Schlanz said that normally when he’s made aware of layoffs or closings, he reaches out to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services and it will come up with up a plan to meet with the company to discuss who will be let go so he can then reach out to those individuals to provide the resources needed.

“Normally we have a heads-up when these businesses are going to lay off or close, such as Big Lots. We knew we had plenty of time, so several weeks ago, we went and met with the Big Lots employees to inform them about our services,” Schlanz said. “This situation is different here with East Ohio. Everything happened so quickly. Even the rapid response coordinator tried to get information from the hospital last week as far as who’s going to be laid off and when and was unsuccessful in getting that information. And then everybody just found out that the place is shutting down on Thursday.”

Schlanz said his goal for the event is to try to let the impacted employees know about the services available to them as well as to answer any general questions about unemployment compensation.

“I’m trying to reach out to a few health care providers to try to get them to attend as well,” he said. “It’s an informational session so that we can try to help make this transition as smooth as possible. This is an unfortunate situation for these individuals, and we want to help them get back into employment.”

He added that he’s hoping to secure some employers at the meeting by inviting as many employers as he can.

Schlanz added that the Belmont County DJFS provides employment services for job seekers in Belmont County and assistance to residents who need help constructing a resume or information on brushing up on their interview skills.

In addition JFS offers access to computers where residents can come to its office at 302 Walnut St. from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday to search for job opportunities as well as research information regarding filing for unemployment.

Schlanz said that if former EORH employees aren’t able to secure a new job prior to May 1,

Ohio Means Jobs Belmont County will hold its annual job fair from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. at the Ohio Valley Mall.