Elected leaders now have a little more breathing room in their efforts to help financially-troubled Forum Health.
Forum Health in March 2009 filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Its facilities include Northside Medical Center, Austintown Ambulatory, Trumbull Memorial Hospital and Hillside Rehabilitation Hospital. Currently, the system, which employs about 3,400, is $133 million in debt. In court, there are three bidders for the entire system and one interested in Hillside only.
Monday was to have been a deadline for Forum executives to finish reviewing the bids and submit a reorganization plan. But that has now been pushed back into mid-January so administrators can spend more time on the process.
Lawmakers trying to come up with financial assistance for Forum admit they, too, now have a little more time work with.
In the meantime, a hearing originally set for Tuesday to determine severance for former CEO Buzz Pishkur has also been delayed until next month so administrators can obtain more information.
