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Judge OKs Steward hospital closures in Dorchester, Ayer
The sale of the six remaining Steward hospitals is now on the table.
A U.S. Bankruptcy Judge approved the closure of Steward Health Care’s two Massachusetts-based hospitals, Carney Hospital in Dorchester and Ayer-based Nashoba Valley Medical Center, during a July 31 hearing.
The company, which is working to sell off or transition its hospitals, announced on Friday plans to close Carney and Nashoba Valley Medical Center, saying they lacked the funds to keep them open and failed to get qualified bidders.
On Friday, Steward submitted a motion in court, asking for an expedited timeline for closing the hospitals by August 31. Judge Christopher Lopez approved a version of it.
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According to Becker’s Hospital CFO Report, during the hearing, Lopez said that the legal standard was met and that his job was to enforce the law.
“I hope people understand how to keep those hospitals open based upon the evidence before me, threatens the entire hospital system in Massachusetts,” Lopez said during the hearing.
According to The Boston Globe, since Steward’s current funding is running low during its bankruptcy, and Massachusetts won’t advance the $30 million it’s committed before sales agreements are signed, Lopez said he had no choice but to approve the closings by the end of the month.
The state’s $30 million pledge in operating funds, conditioned on sales agreements, is an advance from money owed to Steward by MassHealth, the state’s Medicaid program. The funds will be further discussed during an Aug. 6 hearing.
According to the Boston Business Journal, Lopez said Steward needs to maintain transparency throughout the process and submit documentation of any patients at Carney or Nashoba who have been moved to other facilities due to the closures.
“I don’t want those folks forgotten,” Lopez said.
Massachusetts officials’ work to stymie the expedited closures seems to be for naught.
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The Globe reported that the Healey administration did not contest the two hospital closings at Wednesday’s hearing. However, lawyers for Steward and the Healey administration indicated the focus is now on the survival of the remaining six Steward hospitals.
A court date for Aug. 13 was set to approve the sales of the remaining Massachusetts hospitals, including St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Brighton, Holy Family in Methuen and Haverhill, Good Samaritan Medical Center in Brockton, Morton Hospital in Taunton, and St. Anne’s Hospital in Fall River.
This week, hospital employees and community members rallied against the decision to close the hospitals.
Steward Health Care filed for bankruptcy on May 6 in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. The company owns and operates the largest private physician-owned for-profit healthcare network in the U.S.
Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Steward Health Care operates 31 hospitals, including eight in Massachusetts.
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