Present and past staff say goodbye to St. Luke’s Hospital

MAUMEE, Ohio (WTVG) - Staff of St. Luke’s Hospital in Maumee mourned their final day Monday as employees described the farewell as parting ways from a tight-knit family.

The goodbye followed years of back and forth regarding ownership. Now the hospital is no more, with all the signage removed from the building. Yet, staff says the memories are irreplaceable.

In honor of the hospital’s service and legacy a parade of first responders, lights, and sirens, saluted and celebrated the staff at McLaren Saint Luke’s Hospital. The parade some long-time employees like Shannon Rogers to tears.

“This is a small community hospital. I grew up here,” said Rogers.

Other staff members echoed those sentiments saying milestones were reached in the 600,000-square-foot hospital which probably never felt that big.

“It’s our heart. Yep. This is our heart and soul. This is where I grew up as a nurse. My only hospital I’ve ever worked at. It’s heartbreaking,” said Alison Dieter, St. Luke’s employee.

“I don’t think people really…. It’s really sunk in and realize what the implications are going to be,” said Dr. Charles Gbur.

Patients of these most recent and former employees will need to find new care, which could be a challenging transition.

“It’s hard. They don’t know where they are going to be going. This is their hospital. A lot of people live real close. If you say ‘Hey go out to here it’s too far.’ They like this because it’s a family-run hospital,” said Dieter.

Those grateful first responders will have to do their business differently as well. Located in Maumee, the facility didn’t only serve Lucas County but surrounding counties that also utilized its care.

“It’s longer transport times. We have to keep that in mind when we are doing our patient care. How long we can be on scene versus going out to another hospital? It’s going to be a hit on the community not having this hospital here,” said Derek Francis, a firefighter with Whitehouse & Monclova.

“It’s going to be a big change to the community. Trying to figure out what everybody is going to do and how we’re going to keep providing health care to this area of town,” said Dr. Gbur.

Whether as an independent hospital or owned by ProMedica or owned McLaren this staff never wavered.

“It doesn’t matter what name is on the hospital, it’s the names that are inside the hospital that really matter. You know the care providers that you would want your loved ones going to,” said Francis.

Mercy Health will acquire the physical assets. Officials have previously stated that it will no longer be a hospital once Mercy decides its final plan.

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