Senator Elizabeth Warren criticizes Steward Health CEO Ralph De La Torre
During a visit to Fall River, Senator Elizabeth Warren said Steward Health CEO Ralph De La Torre “should be replaced” and called his leadership style “outrageous.”
Governor Maura Healey announced that agreements in principle have been reached to transfer operations of Steward Health Care’s hospitals for sale – Saint Anne’s Hospital in Fall River, Good Samaritan Medical Center in Brockton, Holy Family Hospitals in Methuen and Haverhill, and Morton Hospital in Taunton – to new operators.
Boston Medical Center will take over Good Samaritan and Saint Elizabeth’s. First, however, Massachusetts will take over St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Brighton through expropriation to keep the hospital open while it transitions to a new owner.
Lifespan will take over Morton and Saint Anne’s in Taunton and Fall River, respectively. Lawrence General Hospital would become the operator of both Holy Family campuses.
Mayor of Brockton “excited” by sale news
Brockton Mayor Robert F. Sullivan, who has had to deal with several health crises during his tenure, including COVID and the destruction of Brockton Hospital by fire, welcomed the news that Boston Medical Center would assume control of Good Samaritan Medical Center.
“I am thrilled that Good Samaritan Medical Center will be acquired by Boston Medical Center, ensuring that our city continues to provide high-quality healthcare,” the mayor said in a text message Friday. “With the reopening of Brockton Hospital/Signature Healthcare last Tuesday, our residents and the region will continue to have exceptional healthcare options at two phenomenal medical facilities in the city.”
Sullivan, now in his third term, said his administration has been working with BMC since it took over the old Braemoor Nursing Home on North Pearl Street. He also thanked Governor Maura Healey and her administration. “I look forward to continuing our collaboration and support. I want to thank Mr. Matt Hesketh (CEO – Good Samaritan) for his steadfast leadership and all the Good Samaritan staff who have worked so hard during the pandemic and as a result of the 18-month closure of Brockton Hospital.”
Brockton Hospital reopened Tuesday, meaning the city once again has two emergency rooms. The reopening will ease pressure on other facilities and improve residents’ access to emergency care.
“Today we are taking action to save and keep the five remaining Steward hospitals operating, safeguard access to health care in these communities and preserve the jobs of the hardworking women and men who work in these hospitals,” Healey said. “Our team under Secretary Kate Walsh has worked day in and day out to attract new, responsible and qualified operators who will protect and improve care for their communities. We are grateful for the close collaboration with the Legislature in developing a fiscally responsible funding plan to support these transitions.”
More: Steward Health sells its physician network to a Nashville company: What this means
The governor’s office said it is working with the legislature “on a fiscally responsible financing plan that includes cash advances, capital support and maximizing federal grants” to support the transition to new operators.
What is Boston Medical Center and what else does it have?
Boston Medical Center, often referred to as BMC, is a private, nonprofit, 487-bed academic medical center in Boston’s South End, according to its website. Boston Medical Center is the largest community hospital in New England, meaning it provides care to patients regardless of their insurance or immigration status or ability to pay. The hospital offers a full range of pediatric and adult medical services – from primary care and family medicine to advanced specialty care.
Boston Medical Center is a founding partner of the Boston Medical Center Health System, which offers services throughout New England and is “focused on creating a coordinated, equitable and value-based continuum of care to deliver world-class care to both patients and health plan members,” its website states.
Clearway Health, WellSense Health Plan, Boston Accountable Care Organization, Boston HealthNet, Boston University Medical Group and Oakwell are all part of the Boston Medical Center Health System.
Health workers union comments on governor’s announcement
Tim Foley, vice president of the 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East union, which represents nearly 80,000 health care workers across Massachusetts, said Friday’s announcement was “exactly the kind of aggressive action that 1199SEIU health care workers have been demanding from our state’s leadership.”
“Steward’s hospitals are essential to Massachusetts’ health care system, and this bold step will ensure they remain open to care for our patients despite the unprecedented financial risk-taking of Apollo Global Management, Medical Properties Trust and Steward Health Care,” Foley said.
“Thanks to Governor Healey and her administration, six Steward hospitals will be saved. Steward investors have been draining resources from these hospitals for years to increase their profits, and they bear the blame and responsibility for this crisis. We will not rest until they are held fully accountable for their misconduct and greed.”
Foley pointed out that two of Steward’s hospitals, Carney Hospital and Nashoba Valley Medical Center, are still facing closure, leaving “thousands of patients and staff on their own.”
“We need the same level of uncompromising commitment to patients and staff in Carney and Nashoba Valley that we have seen from the state at the other Steward hospitals,” Foley said.
“Steward and its investors must pay all laid-off employees the paid vacation days and severance pay they are entitled to,” he added. “We thank Governor Healey for joining us in insisting that Steward not lay off the very employees who have persevered through years of mismanagement. And the state must begin a community-led process to shape the future of care at these sites and preserve critical services that patients in Carney and Nashoba Valley depend on, including emergency services, urgent care, full-service pharmacies, mental health services and primary/preventive care.”
Steward Health announced earlier this week the sale of its physician network to a Nashville company
Earlier this week, it was announced that Steward Health Care has agreed to sell its physician network to private equity-backed Rural Healthcare Group for $245 million in cash.
It is unclear whether this sale will still go ahead and what impact it will have.
Steward’s physician group, known as Stewardship, serves more than 800,000 patients through 3,250 offices nationwide, according to a court filing Monday. The group directly employs more than 290 physicians.
Nashville-based RHG said Monday it plans to make “significant investments in Stewardship’s infrastructure that will enable providers to continue treating patients in existing clinics across the Stewardship network.”
Which hospitals are already part of Lifespan?
Lifespan was founded in 1994 by Rhode Island Hospital and Miriam Hospital. According to its website, it is an integrated, academic health system with the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. Its partners include Rhode Island Hospital’s pediatrics, Hasbro Children’s Hospital, Bradley Hospital, Newport Hospital, Gateway Healthcare, Lifespan Physician Group and Coastal Medical.
Lifespan already operates a Hasbro pediatric practice in Fall River.
Closure of Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer and Carney Hospital in Dorchester
Steward Health Care System plans to close Nashoba Valley Medical Center and Carney Hospital in Dorchester by the end of August. In July, a federal bankruptcy judge ruled that Steward could proceed with its plans to close the hospitals. The closure of those medical centers will lay off 490 employees in Nashoba, and the closure of Carney Hospital will eliminate 753 jobs.
The for-profit company filed for bankruptcy in May. Here are some of the mind-blowing discoveries
- Steward owes money to more than 100,000 creditors.
- The largest single unsecured claim in the case is for $71 million against Change Healthcare, a health technology company owned by Optum, the healthcare giant to which Steward has sought to sell his medical practices.
- The company’s unsecured debt includes $28 million owed to the IRS, including debt related to the CARES Act, under which the federal government provided $2 trillion in COVID relief.
- Medical device companies top the list of largest unsecured creditors; Philips North America, for example, owes $50 million.
- Massachusetts companies currently lining up to recoup their debts include Boston Scientific in Marlborough (owed $5.4 million) and ProMedical in Lexington (claiming $5.2 million).
- Steward said the company’s debt is between $1 billion and $10 billion. The company checked a box saying its assets are in the same range.
