Gov. Josh Shapiro said Friday he and his staff are closely reviewing a proposal to sell three local hospitals to a private foundation.
“We're working through some of the details,” Shapiro said during an appearance in Nanticoke. “I don't think it's helpful to kind of get into the specifics in this setting, but I can tell you that it is occupying a significant amount of, not only my time, but my staff's time as well.”
Shapiro did not directly address concerns outlined in a letter that Wilkes-Barre General Hospital’s board of directors wrote to him Aug. 8.
The letter called on Shapiro and state legislators to halt the Community Health Systems sale of Wilkes-Barre General and Regional and Moses Taylor hospitals in Scranton to Tenor Health Foundation, a Pasadena, California-based nonprofit.
The board said the sale may cause the Wilkes-Barre hospital’s demise “through the inevitable cannibalization of our resources in attempt to shore up other facilities and priorities of the parent entity.”
Hospitals losing money
A Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council report showed all three hospitals losing money in 2023 and 2024, though the Wilkes-Barre hospital lost less both years.
Shapiro said he's “aware of the (hospitals’) challenges.”
“And we want to make sure that it remains a viable healthcare institution with accessible healthcare for all people in this region,” he said. “We're exploring a number of different options there to be able to have stable healthcare options for this region.”
He did not provide further details.
Governor talks job training
Shapiro spoke at International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 163 training center to highlight his administration’s “historic investments in workforce development that have helped the Commonwealth’s economy grow.”
College isn’t for everyone, he said.
“We need to make sure that if you choose to go to the military, choose to go to a union hall like this, you choose to go to a college, whatever choice you make has to be treated with the same level of respect,” he said.
Shapiro said his administration created more than 165 apprenticeships to teach vocational-technical skills “in fields like welding and manufacturing, electrical work, transportation and even in agriculture.”
“Our commonwealth now invests 50% ... more in workforce development than the day I took office,” he said.
Other notable comments
Shapiro also:
Denounced harassment aimed at U.S. Rep. Rob Bresnahan and his fiancée, former WNEP-TV news anchor/reporter Chelsea Strub, whose wedding is set for Saturday.
He said he “has not seen the specific threats.”
The governor, whose family was chased from the Governor’s Residence during a firebombing April 13, said he and Bresnahan obviously have policy differences.
“I'm telling you, there is no place for political violence. I don't care who it is directed at,” he said. “And so, whoever is threatening them, stand down. The way we settle our differences in this society and our politics is through debate, is through speaking up in respectful ways, airing out our differences, there's nothing wrong with having a different view on a policy.”
He wished Bresnahan and Strub “a life of happiness and a wonderful wedding this weekend.”
The Wasington Examiner, a Washington, D.C.-based online publication, reported the harassment Thursday. The harassment included derogatory online comments on a family bridal-shower gift page and on Facebook.
One post signed “Luigi” said, “Be seeing you soon!” which the Examiner reported Strub and Bresnahan took as a reference to Luigi Mangione, accused of murdering a healthcare executive in New York in December.
Said data centers can balance environmental and development concerns.
“So, we're going to protect our air, we're going to protect going to protect our water, we're going to protect the interests of the local community,” Shapiro said. “We're going to generate more energy, which is going to be good to create jobs and be able to protect consumers.”
Declined to comment directly on state Treasurer Stacy Garrity’s comments Thursday about running for governor next year.
During a Pittston appearance, Garrity, a Republican widely expected to run, said she would announce a decision soon.
“Look, the Republicans are going to deal with their intramural fight. I'm not going to get into their parlor games,” Shapiro said.
“You know what I'm going to do? I'm going to keep creating jobs here in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. I'm going to fund our kids’ schools. I'm going to make sure that we have more cops on the beat, and I'm going to focus on doing my job of bringing Republicans and Democrats together to get stuff done. That's my focus.”
