Embattled Steward Health Care said Friday it will shutter two of its eight medical centers in Massachusetts next month.Carney Hospital in Dorchester and Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer will close on or around Aug. 31, after it was unable to secure qualified bids on the two properties, the private, for-profit health care company said. Steward said it has been “actively working to sell or transition all its Massachusetts hospitals, and we are in active final negotiations to sell six of them.” “This is a challenging and unfortunate situation, and the effect it will have on our patients, our employees, and the communities we serve is regrettable. We will do all we can to ensure a smooth transition for those affected while continuing to provide quality care to the patients we will continue to serve,” Steward said. Gov. Maura Healey blamed the closures on “greed and mismanagement.””This is not over. It’s regrettable that (Steward CEO) 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 — their closures are about more than the loss of beds, doctors and nurses,” Healey said. A union representing healthcare works called the move “devastating.” “Steward Health Care’s decision to close Carney Hospital and Nashoba Valley Medical Center is devastating, which will create hospital deserts and exacerbate health inequities in the communities they serve. Patients across Massachusetts will now ultimately pay the price of Steward’s mismanagement if care is pushed miles away and ER capacities reach crisis level. The future of care in Massachusetts is at risk,” 1199SEIU said in a statement.Steward said it will work with both patients and employees affected by the closures. “We will work closely with our Carney and Nashoba patients to help them find the best possible care alternative and with our valued employees and health care professionals to assist with this very difficult transition,” Steward said. “Steward’s decision to close Carney Hospital is its latest failure for the people of Boston. The city is committed to working closely with the state to explore all possible paths forward to ensure access to care for Dorchester residents and beyond, particularly emergency and acute care services,” said Boston Mayor Michelle Wu.Steward Health Care filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on May 6. The company was looking to sell all of its hospitals and received “qualified bids” for some of the facilities in Massachusetts, Healey said earlier this week.Steward said it was taking bids on its other hospitals in Massachusetts, including Good Samaritan Medical Center in Brockton, Morton Hospital in Taunton, St. Anne’s Hospital in Fall River, St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Brighton and Holy Family Hospital with campuses in Methuen and Haverhill. “Those hospitals are necessary for those communities,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren said. “(De la Torre) has done enough damage in this state.””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. 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,” Healey said. Carney and Nashoba remained open on Friday and will proceed through an “orderly and regulated closure,” Healey’s office said. “Our first priority has to be the patients,” Warren said. “The callousness demonstrated for the health and well-being of the people of Massachusetts is nothing short of astonishing,” Sen. Ed Markey said. “Steward Health Care … intentionally purchased safety net hospitals that communities rely on, and they ran them into the ground in their efforts to extract maximum profits.” A bankruptcy judge will have to approve Steward’s motion to close, after which Steward will be required to send a notice of closure to the Department of Public Health, facilitating a transition for impacted patients and employees, Healey’s office said.”There is still a process that Steward Health Care must follow that has been set out by the bankruptcy court and the law. So far, Steward has flouted transparency requirements and their obligations to serve their patients,” Markey said. On Thursday, a bipartisan group of senators voted to start an investigation into Steward. As part of that they issued a subpoena to de la Torre to testify before a Senate committee in September.Video: ‘Outrageous’: Sen. Warren reacts to closure of 2 Steward hospitals in Mass.
Embattled Steward Health Care said Friday it will shutter two of its eight medical centers in Massachusetts next month.
Carney Hospital in Dorchester and Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer will close on or around Aug. 31, after it was unable to secure qualified bids on the two properties, the private, for-profit health care company said.
Steward said it has been “actively working to sell or transition all its Massachusetts hospitals, and we are in active final negotiations to sell six of them.”
“This is a challenging and unfortunate situation, and the effect it will have on our patients, our employees, and the communities we serve is regrettable. We will do all we can to ensure a smooth transition for those affected while continuing to provide quality care to the patients we will continue to serve,” Steward said.
Gov. Maura Healey blamed the closures on “greed and mismanagement.”
“This is not over. It’s regrettable that (Steward CEO) 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 — their closures are about more than the loss of beds, doctors and nurses,” Healey said.
A union representing healthcare works called the move “devastating.”
“Steward Health Care’s decision to close Carney Hospital and Nashoba Valley Medical Center is devastating, which will create hospital deserts and exacerbate health inequities in the communities they serve. Patients across Massachusetts will now ultimately pay the price of Steward’s mismanagement if care is pushed miles away and ER capacities reach crisis level. The future of care in Massachusetts is at risk,” 1199SEIU said in a statement.
Steward said it will work with both patients and employees affected by the closures.
“We will work closely with our Carney and Nashoba patients to help them find the best possible care alternative and with our valued employees and health care professionals to assist with this very difficult transition,” Steward said.
“Steward’s decision to close Carney Hospital is its latest failure for the people of Boston. The city is committed to working closely with the state to explore all possible paths forward to ensure access to care for Dorchester residents and beyond, particularly emergency and acute care services,” said Boston Mayor Michelle Wu.
Steward Health Care filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on May 6. The company was looking to sell all of its hospitals and received “qualified bids” for some of the facilities in Massachusetts, Healey said earlier this week.
Steward said it was taking bids on its other hospitals in Massachusetts, including Good Samaritan Medical Center in Brockton, Morton Hospital in Taunton, St. Anne’s Hospital in Fall River, St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Brighton and Holy Family Hospital with campuses in Methuen and Haverhill.
“Those hospitals are necessary for those communities,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren said. “(De la Torre) has done enough damage in this state.”
“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. 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,” Healey said.
Carney and Nashoba remained open on Friday and will proceed through an “orderly and regulated closure,” Healey’s office said.
“Our first priority has to be the patients,” Warren said.
“The callousness demonstrated for the health and well-being of the people of Massachusetts is nothing short of astonishing,” Sen. Ed Markey said. “Steward Health Care … intentionally purchased safety net hospitals that communities rely on, and they ran them into the ground in their efforts to extract maximum profits.”
A bankruptcy judge will have to approve Steward’s motion to close, after which Steward will be required to send a notice of closure to the Department of Public Health, facilitating a transition for impacted patients and employees, Healey’s office said.
“There is still a process that Steward Health Care must follow that has been set out by the bankruptcy court and the law. So far, Steward has flouted transparency requirements and their obligations to serve their patients,” Markey said.
On Thursday, a bipartisan group of senators voted to start an investigation into Steward. As part of that they issued a subpoena to de la Torre to testify before a Senate committee in September.
Video: ‘Outrageous’: Sen. Warren reacts to closure of 2 Steward hospitals in Mass.
