MARTINS FERRY — Employees of East Ohio Regional Hospital remained without pay Tuesday despite messages from leadership that say they are working on a solution.

The staff was not paid Friday as scheduled, but hospital owner Dr. John Johnson assured employees by email last week that the hospital was “working hard” to disperse paychecks by Tuesday.

On Tuesday afternoon, Johnson sent another email to employees stating that he had been “unsuccessful” in meeting that deadline.

“As indicated last week, all efforts remain concentrated in utilizing any and all incoming cash flow toward payroll distribution and benefits,” Johnson wrote in his email to staff.

“As Owner, Chief Executive Officer/Chief Operating Officer of the organization, it is my sole fiduciary responsibility to advise you of my intentions and provide a progress status update,” the email continues. “As of today, I have been unsuccessful in meeting the 3-11 time frame with our lending sources. I will continue to provide future updates.”

Johnson signed the email as both CEO and COO, a departure from the earlier message from his email address to employees that was unsigned. Julie Ross, who was named COO in September following the departure of former COO Bernie Albertini, has included COO among her titles in emails to staff as recently as Monday.

Several employees have said many staff members are no longer reporting to work due to the delayed payment.

Meanwhile, Belmont County Treasurer Kathy Kelich on Tuesday said the hospital leadership and the county have reached an agreement on a monthly plan for the hospital to pay off $1.2 million in delinquent property taxes. EORH will be paying $33,732.14 a month in a 36-month contract, Kelich said.

The plan came on March 3 after Martins Ferry Mayor John Davies contacted Kelich saying that he wanted an agreement on the matter to be reached as soon as possible, according to Kelich.

The city of Martins Ferry already made the initial payment toward the monthly contract using funds resulting from the 2018 agreement between the city and EORH LLC to return 75% of income taxes paid to the city by EORH employees, Kelich said. According to the city’s agreement with EORH, that money is to be released upon request by the hospital to fund capital improvements it has completed. Davies previously said city Solicitor Paul Stecker is responsible for confirming those improvements have been made prior to releasing the money.

According to Davies, Martins Ferry City Council met in special session on March 3 and voted to release “just a little under $34,000” to the hospital. Davies said he did not know offhand that evening what the most recent improvements at the facility had been.

There is an additional $90,000 being held by the city that could help with the payment for the coming months, the treasurer added.

Kelich said the fact that the hospital has not been able to pay its staff does raise concern.

“I don’t know the situation that resulted in the failure to meet payroll, nor do l know how much is the payroll. But if the hospital doesn’t have employees, it can’t operate. If it doesn’t operate, it can’t pay the bills,” Kelich said.

Hospital employees have rallied in group chats and community pages on Facebook and are planning a peaceful protest outside of the hospital this morning. Employees have been encouraging one another to make signs and wear their scrubs to the protest.

Others have taken to social media, posting in support of EORH employees who may be struggling to make ends meet.

One such post offering baby food and diapers for employees who may have been depending on their missed paycheck to provide for their families garnered over 240 likes on Facebook.

Hospital COO Ross has not responded to several requests for comment. A person has answered calls to Ross’s office several times and then hung up after the caller identified themselves as a reporter.