“Today, I’m pleased to say we’re closing the book on Steward once and for all in Massachusetts. Good riddance and goodbye.”
By Ross Cristantiello
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey announced Friday that the state has reached preliminary deals to keep four Steward Health Care hospitals on five campuses open.
Deals in principle were reached for the sales of Saint Anne’s Hospital in Fall River, Good Samaritan Medical Center in Brockton, Morton Hospital in Taunton, and Holy Family Hospital campuses in Methuen and Haverhill to new operators.
Meanwhile, the state will take control of St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Brighton by eminent domain and facilitate a transition to a new owner.
Lawrence General Hospital is set to become the new operator for both Holy Family campuses.Lifespan Health Systems will take over Saint Anne’s and Morton. Boston Medical Center will take over Good Samaritan and, eventually, St. Elizabeth’s.
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Earlier this year, the Dallas-based Steward Health Care declared bankruptcy and announced that it would have to sell or close its hospitals nationwide, including eight in Massachusetts.Steward Chairman Ralph de la Torre received much of the blame, with many pointing to the decision in 2016 to sell buildings and land to a real estate investment trust that would then rent them back to Steward for multimillion dollar lease payments.
“None of us wanted to be here in the first place. This is not something Massachusetts created,” Healey said during a press conference Friday afternoon. “It was something that was created by the greed and the exploitation of an individual, Ralph de la Torre, and members of his team. De le Torre’s actions brought us to nearly the brink of collapse here in Massachusetts.”
From the outset, Healey said, her mission has been to save as many of the Steward hospitals as possible. The administration is providing $30 million in bridge financing to keep the hospitals open through the end of the month.
Two of the Steward hospitals in Massachusetts did not receive qualified bids: Carney Hospital in Dorchester and Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer. Both are set to close by the end of August.
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Despite ongoing outcry from advocates, workers, and patients, Healey has said her hands are tied and that Carney and Nashoba Valley will close. She was heavily criticized at gatherings this week.
“The news today is good, but not for everyone,” Healey said when speaking about Carney and Nashoba Valley. “Unlike the other hospitals, there was no hospital operator willing to come forward with a bid to continue operations of those facilities. That’s why those hospitals are set to close, because of Steward, because of what Steward did in running them to the ground. So it’s an incredibly upsetting reality.”
Healey said that her administration is working diligently to help the workers at Carney and Nashoba Valley by demanding that Steward fork up the severance payments it agreed to and sending MassHire teams to the hospitals to host job fairs and provide other services. A total of 753 workers at Carney and 490 at Nashoba Valley are facing layoffs.
Tim Foley, executive vice president of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, commended the administration’s actions in a statement after the deals were announced.
“This is the exact kind of aggressive action that the healthcare workers of 1199SEIU have been demanding from our state leaders. Steward’s hospitals are essential to Massachusetts’ healthcare system, and this bold step will keep them open to serve our patients despite the outrageous financial brinksmanship of Apollo Global Management, Medical Properties Trust, and Steward Health Care,” he said.
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The deals announced Friday were far from a sure thing just 24 hours earlier. On Thursday, Healey pleaded with lenders and private equity giant Apollo Global Management to facilitate a deal, State House News Service reported.
Two landlords, Medical Properties Trust and Macquarie Infrastructure Partners, turned the hospitals’ real estate over to Apollo earlier this summer. Healey has accused all three of putting their own interests above the health and wellbeing of Massachusetts residents.
The state is planning to offer $4.5 million to take control of St. Elizabeth’s from Apollo, which Healey said represents a fair market value. That action is likely to require legislative approval, and Healey said that administration officials are working closely with lawmakers to “develop a fiscally responsible financing plan that includes cash advances, capital support and maximizing federal matches.”
While speaking to reporters Friday, Healey framed the deals as the beginning of a new era.
“From where we began many, many months ago, with Steward pulling the rug out from all of us in Massachusetts, I wasn’t sure that we were going to be able to get here,” she said. “Today, I’m pleased to say we’re closing the book on Steward once and for all in Massachusetts. Good riddance and goodbye.”
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