Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey on Friday demanded that Steward Health Care finalize deals to sell its remaining Bay State hospitals after the bankrupt company announced plans to close two of its locations later this summer.
“This is not over. It’s regrettable that Ralph de la Torre and Steward’s greed and mismanagement are resulting in the closures of Carney and Nashoba Valley hospitals. These hospitals have long served their communities,” Healey said in a statement. “Their closures are about more than the loss of beds, doctors, and nurses. We want to assure the people of Massachusetts that we have prepared diligently for this moment and will take all available steps to help facilitate a smooth transition for impacted patients and employees.”
The move comes after de la Torre, the company’s CEO, was subpoenaed to testify before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee in September.
Carney and Nashoba will remain open and proceed through an orderly and regulated closure on or around August 31.
In June, an average of 13 of Carney’s 83 medical beds were filled and an average of 11 of Nashoba’s 46 beds were filled, according to the Healey administration.
Steward said it did receive bids to run its other Bay State hospitals, which include Morton Hospital in Taunton, Good Samaritan Medical Center in Brockton, Holy Family in Methuen and Haverhill, St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Brighton, and St. Anne’s Hospital in Fall River.
Healey is now calling on Steward to put aside its “selfish greed” and get deals done to keep the doors to their other Massachusetts facilities open to patients.
“For the remaining hospitals, we know that Steward received several bids to not only maintain but improve five of their hospitals in three key regions,” Healey said. “It is time for Steward and their real estate partners to finally put the communities they serve over their own selfish greed. They need to finalize these deals that are in their best interest and the best interest of patients and workers.”
In May, Steward said it planned to sell off all its hospitals after announcing that it had filed for bankruptcy protection.
A sales hearing for Steward’s remaining hospitals is scheduled in U.S. Bankruptcy Court on July 31.
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