Fate of Steward Health Care's Massachusetts hospitals to be mapped out at bankruptcy hearing
BOSTON - An update on the future of Steward Health Care is expected at a bankruptcy hearing in Texas Monday afternoon. Steward, which is based in Dallas, owns 31 hospitals across the country, including nine in Massachusetts.
Steward Health Care bankruptcy
The company filed for bankruptcy protection in Texas in May and plans to sell off all of its hospitals.
Bids for most of the hospitals would be due in three weeks, by Monday, June 24. After that, hearings on the sales will begin on Tuesday, July 2. The final plan must be approved by federal Judge Christopher Lopez who is presiding over Monday's hearing in Houston.
Steward Health Care's Massachusetts hospitals
Steward has put eight of its hospitals in Massachusetts up for sale, including St. Elizabeth's Medical Center in Brighton, Good Samaritan Medical Center in Brockton, Holy Family Hospitals in Haverhill and Methuen, Carney Hospital in Dorchester, Saint Anne's Hospital in Fall River, Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer, and Morton Hospital in Taunton.
The ninth facility, Norwood Hospital, is not on the list and it's not clear yet what Steward plans to do with it. The hospital shut down nearly four years ago after it was severely damaged by flooding.
Massachusetts wants right to review
In a court filing ahead of Monday's hearing, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell said the state "must have the opportunity to... review and, where appropriate, legally challenge or approve any proposed sale of the Steward Massachusetts Hospitals to new owners."
"Massachusetts does not object to Steward's request to establish procedures for the sale of its assets, including the Steward Massachusetts Hospitals and physician services network, on an expedited timeline. Indeed, Massachusetts supports the arrival of a new operator or operators who can provide high-quality patient care to Massachusetts residents. But any new owner must meet the requirements of Massachusetts law to operate hospitals or run a physician services network in the Commonwealth," Campbell wrote.
Steward is millions of dollars in debt and Governor Maura Healey told it to get out of the hospital business in Massachusetts back in February.
Massachusetts Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey wrote a letter Monday with Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown to the Director of the U.S. Trustee Program (USTP). They want the agency to appoint a trustee "as quickly as possible" to take over for Steward's current management and run the company.