A view of Carney Hospital in Dorchester, Massachusetts, on March 17, 2020. The hospital is part of the Steward Health Care system. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
Gov. Maura Healey has tried to close the door several times on government-led rescues of two Massachusetts hospitals owned by Steward Health Care, but every time she does, someone tries to put their foot on the threshold.
Healey announced Friday that the state plans to use its eminent domain powers to seize St. Elizabeth's Medical Center and eventually put it in Boston Medical Center's portfolio, and two congressional delegation members cited that decision Saturday to make the case that there are ways to prevent the closure this month of Carney Hospital in Dorchester.
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“The public health crisis created by Steward Health Care’s shameful greed demands an aggressive response that holds Steward accountable and protects the patients, providers, and communities they have failed," U.S. Reps. Stephen Lynch and Ayanna Pressley said in a joint statement Saturday. "The agreement announced yesterday by the Healey-Driscoll Administration -- especially the seizure of St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Brighton-- is the type of pivotal action needed in this moment, and we urge the Commonwealth to move with the same level of urgency to keep Carney Hospital in Dorchester open as well."
In the announcement Friday of plans for five for-sale Steward hospitals, Healey's office said the news doesn't impact Carney or Nashoba Valley, "which will close after not receiving qualified bids." Steward has received court approval to close those hospitals by Aug. 31.
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"We don't have an operator" willing to buy Carney or Nashoba, Healey said Friday when asked why the state did not take the same action for the hospitals that will be closing. "That's the difference."
"The state cannot run a hospital, hospital systems have to run hospitals," the governor said Friday. "And the difference here is we had five hospitals where hospital systems, as acquirers, came forward to take over operations. That unfortunately did not happen with Carney or Nashoba. If one were to miraculously appear, that would be another thing."
Steward Health Care's bankruptcy case and hospital sales process will continue to unfold in a Texas bankruptcy court this week, as Healey and other top Democrats gather in Illinois for the Democratic National Convention.
