PITTSBURGH -- About 150 people gathered in the cold outside UPMC Braddock, fighting to keep the facility from closing, but that didn't happen and the hospital closed for good on Sunday with the shut down of the emergency room.

Protesters held signs and rallied in hopes that their voices would be heard.

"I think it's a shame that they're abandoning this community," said Braddock resident Lasawn Patterson.

Patterson said part of the reason she moved to Braddock a year ago was because of the hospital.

"I thought I was going to have everything I needed right here. Hospital care is very important, and to see it go is very hard," she said.

"There's a dark window in the building for every resident in Braddock," said Braddock Mayor John Fetterman. "It's a sad day. Today is just about reminding them we're still in the fight here."

The effort continues, but even those at the rally seemed resigned to the fact that there is little that can be done to keep the hospital open.

On Friday, a judge refused to grant an emergency injunction to keep the hospital open.

The judge said the plan to close the hospital is an unpopular move to the community, but it is not illegal.

Most of the hospital's 600 employees have been transferred to other UPMC hospitals.

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