The union representing laid-off workers at the former Hillside Rehabilitation Hospital said Tuesday that Insight Health System officials must address the Howland facility’s future.

The Ohio Nurses Association also is demanding Insight “include labor at the table in all discussions about reopening Hillside.”

In addition to a news release outlining its position, the union released an open letter addressed to Trumbull County commissioners.

“We understand from Commissioner (Rick) Hernandez’s recent statement that Insight is seeking the commissioners’ support to reopen both (Insight Hospital and Medical Center at Trumbull) and Hillside,” its letter states. “Yet Insight has not been transparent with us — or the public — about its intentions for Hillside, and caregivers have been left in the dark.”

Insight laid off 143 workers at Insight Hospital and Medical Center Hillside on March 28. The health system said in a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act filing with the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services that the original layoffs were scheduled to end in under six months.

At the time, Insight said it did not have the funding required to operate. Without it, officials warned Hillside could be closed permanently.

“Insight is working diligently to attain the Hillside Medicare provider number as was recently

accomplished for the Trumbull acute care hospital,” a spokesperson for the Michigan-headquartered company said Tuesday. “We will have more information in the coming weeks as we coordinate with the regulatory authorities, union leaders and government agencies.”

Rick Lucas, the union’s president and executive director, said “Insight has reputational and relational damage to repair.

“You don’t discard a hospital and its people with no warning or plan and expect this community to simply forget. The workers who made Hillside what it was are ready to return — but only if there’s a real, lasting commitment to patients and staff.”

Registered nurses (19), physical therapists (17), certified nurses (10) and occupation nursing assistants (10) make up the highest numbers of affected Hillside employees. AFSCME Ohio Council 8 also represents workers at Hillside.

The Ohio Nurses Association also wants Insight to admit that its actions harmed Hillside’s patients, families and workers and “commit to transparency and accountability in all future plans for the hospital.”

Hernandez said Tuesday that the union’s position did not surprise him. He said he expects its members to be in the audience when the commissioners host Insight officials at 1 p.m. Aug. 5 to discuss Hillside and Trumbull. City, state and federal officials were invited to the public session.

“We do have questions regarding the reopening, and one of them is ‘How are they going to garner a workforce?'” he said. “It’s not the commissioner’s position to negotiate agreements with a union or with any contractual issues. Our main goal is to find out what their intentions are moving forward and ask pertinent questions regarding the opening of the hospital.”

The union has asked to be included in that meeting.

“If we are truly working toward solutions, it is essential that the voices of those delivering the care be heard,” it said.

The layoffs at Hillside have spawned a federal class-action lawsuit, which U.S. District Court Judge Benita Y. Pearson is hearing in Youngstown.

David McCullough, a former Hillside employee and Garrettsville resident, claims Insight failed to provide 60 days’ notice before terminating its employees. Citing a potential resolution, the court granted an extension to Oct. 20.

Court documents say a potential resolution must be reached by Sept. 22.