Steward Health Care says they have the money to keep their Massachusetts hospitals open
BOSTON - Steward Health Care said Friday it has secured the financing it needs to keep its hospitals in Massachusetts open.
Lawsuit records obtained by WBZ TV show Steward is million of dollars in debt and some patients said they've had their surgeries canceled.
Executive Vice President Dr. Michael Callum sent a letter to Steward staff on Friday saying they've agreed on a "significant transaction" and that they're negotiating a merger or sale.
"Despite troubling news reports about our Massachusetts hospitals, I want to inform you that Steward has agreed upon the principal terms for a significant financial transaction to help stabilize our company," Callum said in the memo.
"This bridge financing and the terms of this transaction have been agreed upon and the first trenche of funding is imminent. This funding will help stabilize operations, including the resumption of virtually all elective cases, and more importantly, allows us to continue operations at all of our Massachusetts hospitals. To be clear, we have no current plans to close any of our hospitals in Massachusetts."
Steward owns nine hospitals in Massachusetts and Rep. Stephen Lynch said it was planning to sell four of them - Holy Family Hospital in Methuen, Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer, Norwood Hospital and St. Elizabeth's Medical Center in Brighton.