ASHLAND, Ky. — With Tuesday’s announcement by Our Lady of Bellefonte Hospital that it would close all of its services by the end of September, other local hospitals are reacting by having job fairs for employees and setting up phone lines for patients.

King’s Daughters Medical Center in Ashland, Kentucky, said on Wednesday it has established two special phone lines to assist OLBH patients and employees.

For patients affected by the OLBH announcement, King’s Daughters established a special Care Line, 606-408-CARE (2273) to answer questions and address concerns. The Care Line will be able to provide information and guidance to those with concerns about ongoing care, medical records or other patient-related issues.

“Many OLBH patients have expressed concern about how their health care needs will be met going forward,” KDMC said in a statement. “We are committed to doing all we can along with OLBH, and our medical staffs, to ensure ongoing access to quality care. King’s Daughters goal is to preserve OLBH providers and welcome them into King’s Daughters Health System, as they desire, to prevent potential gaps in care.”

OLBH employees who are interested in job opportunities at King’s Daughters and its subsidiaries may call 606-408-0020 to inquire. Additionally, the organization is planning a number of career/job fairs over the coming weeks to assist OLBH employees. Information about these events will be posted to KingsDaughtersHealth.com, King’s Daughters Facebook page and made available to local news organizations as soon as it becomes available.

Currently, King’s Daughters has numerous open positions posted on its website, KingsDaughtersHealth.com/careers. The hospital said it is currently hiring across its entire health system — inpatient, outpatient, emergency, procedural areas, critical care, long-term care, and support services.

Southern Ohio Medical Center will have a recruitment outreach event from 9 a.m.–8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 6 to help find employment for those affected by the closure of OLBH. The event will be held at the fifth floor banquet facilities of the Bellefonte Centre, 1000 Ashland Drive, iRussell, Kentucky.

“We feel for our neighbors in eastern Kentucky, and all those who are impacted by OLBH’s closing,” President and CEO Randy Arnett said. “This is a difficult development for our community and our region, but we intend to help in any way we can.”

SOMC said there are currently more than 150 employment opportunities.

“Our Human Resources team is prepared to talk with those impacted by this closure about the opportunities we have available at SOMC,” Arnett said.

St. Mary’s Hospital, Cabell Huntington Hospital and OVP Health Network hosted job fairs for OLBH employees on Wednesday.

OLBH said that patient care would continue as normal over the next eight months.

Bon Secours Health System, which operates OLBH, announced on Tuesday that it would “be exiting acute and outpatient care in the Ashland and Tri-state communities by the end of September 2020 resulting in the closure of Our Lady of Bellefonte Hospital (OLBH), system-owned care sites and its physician network, Bellefonte Physician Services.”

OLBH was built in 1953 by Franciscan Sisters of the Poor, with 92 beds and 44 bassinets. Since then it has grown into 214-bed hospital with 1,200 member staff.

Bon Secours bought the hospital in 2000, after the Franciscan Sisters of the Poor Health System disbanded. In 2018, the Maryland-based Bon Secours Health System merged with the Cincinnati-based Mercy Health.