BOSTON– Steward Health Care announced Friday that it will close two hospitals in Massachusetts because it did not receive qualified bids for the facilities after declaring bankruptcy earlier this year.
Steward’s bankruptcy is being investigated by the US Senate, with Democrats accusing the Dallas-based company of allowing private equity executives to strip the company of its assets despite the harm it causes to local communities.
In a statement announcing the closings, Steward said it has been working to sell or transition all of its Massachusetts hospitals and is in active final negotiations to sell six of them.
“Despite the extensive sale process, which involved close coordination with lenders and regulators, there were no qualified bids for two hospitals, Carney Hospital and Nashoba Valley Medical Center, and, unfortunately, they will close on or about August 31,” the company said.
Carney Hospital is located in Boston’s Dorchester neighborhood, and Nashoba Valley Medical Center is in Ayer, a city about 45 miles west of Boston.
In May, Steward said he planned sell all your hospitals after announcing that he had filed for bankruptcy protection. The company operates about 30 hospitals in eight states.
Steward called the situation “challenging and unfortunate” and said the effect it will have on patients, staff and communities is unfortunate. The company said it is working with appropriate state and federal agencies during the closing process.
“We will work closely with our Carney and Nashoba patients to help them find the best possible treatment alternative and with our valued employees and healthcare professionals to help with this difficult transition,” the company said.
Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey attributed the closures to what she called greed and mismanagement by Steward Health Care and the company’s CEO, Ralph de la Torre.
“These hospitals have long served their communities – their closures are about more than the loss of beds, doctors and nurses,” Healey said in a written statement. “We want to assure the people of Massachusetts that we have diligently prepared for this moment. and will take all available measures to help facilitate a smooth transition for affected patients and staff.”
Healey said that for the company’s remaining hospitals in Massachusetts, Steward has received proposals to not only maintain but also improve the hospitals.
Carney and Nashoba remain open for now and will proceed with an orderly and regulated closure, according to Healey.
The next step in the process for both hospitals is for a bankruptcy judge to approve Steward’s motion to close. The Steward is required to submit a closure notice to the state Department of Public Health, which will then work out a transition for patients and workers.
The state created a online interactive panel allowing patients to map nearby hospitals, understand the services available at each location, and view monthly updates on patient volume and available beds to help residents connect to nearby services.
In June, an average of 13 of Carney’s 83 medical beds were occupied and an average of 11 of Nashoba’s 46 beds were occupied, according to the state.
On Thursday, a Senate committee voted Thursday to authorize an investigation in the bankruptcy of Steward Health Care and the subpoena de la Torre.
The subpoena would force de la Torre to testify before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee at a September 12 hearing.
The committee’s chairman, Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont, said Thursday that Steward’s bankruptcy shows the dangers of allowing private equity executives to make huge amounts of money by taking control of hospitals, putting them into debt and fleecing them. up of your assets.
A group of Democratic members of Congress led by Markey also sought guarantees that workers at Steward-owned hospitals will have their health care and retirement benefits protected.
Markey, also a member of the HELP committee, said in a statement Friday that Steward must do everything he can to keep the remaining hospitals open.
“The callousness shown to the health and well-being of the people of Massachusetts is simply astonishing,” Markey said. “Steward Health Care – led by Dr. de la Torre and facilitated by private equity and real estate investment trusts – has intentionally purchased safety-net hospitals that communities depend on and destroyed them in their efforts to extract maximum profits.”
