WYOMING COUNTY, Pa. — Plans are underway to open a health care facility at the site of a closed hospital in Wyoming County.
A local business owner purchased the former Tyler Memorial Hospital in Tunkhannock Township from Commonwealth Health Services.
The new owner says they hope to reopen the facility with services to include urgent care, onsite lab collection, X-ray and imaging services, and primary care offices.
Dialysis offered by DaVita will remain, along with space for Pennsylvania Ambulance and the Wyoming County Community Health Foundation, according to a release from the new owners.
"I'm glad someone's stepping up to the plate to really try and help our community. I've only been in the area for approximately five years, and when they took the hospital away, I was like, 'Oh, my gosh, where are we going to go?'" said one Tunkhannock resident.
The new owners—the Ruark family, through their Family Limited Partnership—said negotiations are underway with a health care system to operate the urgent care facility.
Inpatient and surgical care ended at the hospital in 2021.
ER services were discontinued in 2022, forcing people to travel farther to get to another emergency room.
"Our people are very worried. The elderly in our community are very worried if something happens to them," said Gina Suydam, president of the Wyoming County Chamber of Commerce. "Some of our outlying towns, Forkston and Laceyville, they're traveling much further to get to them, plus if they have to wait for an ambulance to get to them first."
Suydam says the Ruark family has been a staple in the community for years. Many know Bill Ruark as the owner of Stone Hedge Golf Course.
"Our local community needs to utilize this service. The Ruark family is building this for us. He bought that building for us, for Wyoming County residents, and we need to utilize the service," Suydam said.
The owners plan an open house when the deal is finalized in the coming months.
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