The following is a press release from Mary Rutan Health:
“Mary Rutan Health is responding to recent questions and misinformation circulating online about property transactions involving the hospital property and the Northpointe Development, including the hotel at the intersection of Route 68 and Route 33.
Hospital and community leaders say the claims reflect misunderstandings about the hospital’s history and standard business practices.
Mary Rutan Health traces its roots to 1919, when it opened as a city-owned hospital following a bequest by Rebecca Rutan Williams in honor of her mother, Mary Rutan. Like many municipal hospitals across the country, it transitioned away from city ownership in 1978, when Bellefontaine transferred hospital operations to a private, nonprofit entity.
“That change happened nearly five decades ago,” said Chad Ross, president and CEO of Mary Rutan Health. “Since that time, the hospital has operated independently, without city funding, city oversight, or city governance involvement.”
While the hospital’s operations became private in 1978, the city retained ownership of the main campus building and land under a long-term lease—a typical arrangement during municipal hospital transitions at the time. Under that lease, the hospital independently financed expansions, renovations, new equipment, and daily operations. The city’s only involvement came when the hospital issued bonds to finance expansion. However, the city never had any financial liability or payment obligations with respect to any such financing.
In 2017, the city and the hospital agreed to end the lease to simplify operations, with the hospital paying the city $1 million. City officials used the proceeds to establish an economic development fund that continues to support community projects.
Weston Dodds, the current City of Bellefontaine Safety Service Director, though not directly involved in 2017, called the transition a win-win for the community.
“The lease was outdated, and each time the hospital needed something, City Council and administration needed to be reminded about the arrangement,” Dodds said. “The transition allowed the city to get some funds for important projects and freed up the hospital from unnecessary red tape.”
Mary Rutan Health CEO Chad Ross said the transition simply acknowledged the reality of the operating situation.
“The city hadn’t invested in the hospital property for nearly forty years, and it didn’t want to resume ownership or management of a hospital,” Ross said. “Buying out the lease simplified financing and reflected the reality that the hospital had long been operating independently.”
As for the Northpointe Development along U.S. Route 68, it is completely separate from the main hospital campus and the transaction with the city. The Northpointe property was purchased privately by the hospital in 2015 from a former Holiday Inn site that had sat vacant and deteriorating as a pile of rubble for years.
The hospital initially acquired the property to build an urgent care and outpatient services facility, which later became the Mary Rutan Health Center. As plans progressed, community leaders identified a broader community need for lodging to support business travelers, visiting families, and economic development.
“Our community had been losing overnight stays for years to hotels in surrounding communities,” said Ben Vollrath, president & CEO of the Logan County Chamber of Commerce. “A higher-end hotel was something employers, visitors, and local organizations all agreed was badly needed, and Mary Rutan Health played a key role in making this community project a reality.”
The project was in development for a long time, with feasibility studies and discussions with developers and investors.
Instead of selling the property outright, which might have deterred development efforts, Mary Rutan Health’s board ultimately approved investing in the project by contributing the land as an equity investment. Instead of selling the land outright, the health system’s for-profit venture transferred the land to the hotel project at an agreed value of $500,000 in exchange for partial ownership in the project.
“That land was not given away,” Ross said. “It was contributed as an equity investment, just like other investors contributed cash. In return, Mary Rutan Health received an ownership interest that will realize value over time and serve the health system’s overall mission of community support.”
Deeds associated with the transaction list $0 consideration, which officials say reflects the internal equity structure and exemption from conveyance fees, not a lack of value. Any revenue earned from the hotel is subject to normal business taxes, and any proceeds remaining would be put toward the mission of supporting the community.
A limited liability company by the name of Bellefontaine Hospitality LLC owns the hotel and is made up primarily of local investors. While serving as an equity investor, Mary Rutan Health does not manage or operate the hotel.
Additional lots at Northpointe owned by Mary Rutan Health are for sale as development discussions in that area continue.
Ross has also addressed questions about his own role in the project. His name appears on securities filings as a “promoter,” a designation used for individuals involved in organizing or discussing investment opportunities. The hospital board of directors had charged Mr. Ross to work with other business and community leaders toward the goal of bringing a hotel to Logan County.
“I have no personal ownership, no personal financial interest, and received no compensation beyond my normal Mary Rutan Health salary,” Ross said. “Any involvement I had was strictly in my role as a health system executive, acting at the direction of the board.”
Mary Rutan Health officials say they understand public interest in the hospital’s finances and governance, but encourage residents to rely on verified information rather than speculation.
“Our focus remains patient care, overall community benefit, and responsible stewardship,” Ross said. “Those priorities haven’t changed.””
