‘It's asinine': Protesters decry Steward Health hospital closures

The clock is ticking for patients and employees at two Steward Health Care hospitals in the Bay State.

The Texas-based company filed for bankruptcy in May and last week announced the closure of Carney Hospital in Boston’s Dorchester neighborhood and Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer.

“I've been a patient for 53 years,” said Carney Hospital patient Rob Burke. “If they ask me ‘you want to keep your doctor?’ yeah good, how about my hospital?”

Burke and other patients joined health care workers at Carney Hospital in a protest Monday morning in front of the building.

“I've already been told that I do not have a job as of August 31,” said Carney Hospital emergency room psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner Becky Read.

Steward Health Care is closing the two hospitals by the end of the month and is slated to sell their remaining six in Massachusetts.

“I think it's asinine that they want to close the hospital there's no other hospital around here so they need to keep it open,” said Carney Hospital Personal Care Attendant Stephanie Dawson.

Dawson has been Peggy Phisher’s caretaker for the past decade. Phisher is a senior patient with special needs. She wished to send a message for the company’s CEO Ralph de la Torre.

“If she sees him she wants to give him a piece of her mind,” said Dawson interpreting for Phisher.

De la Torre has been accused by elected officials of profiting from failing hospitals and dodging a state law that requires a 120-day advance notice of a closure.

“We should be instituting 120-day closure and have a public hearing which is required by law,” said First Suffolk District State Senator Nick Collins who was at the Monday morning protest.

The closure of both hospitals would impact roughly 1,250 employees.

“They could sell this property, allow either the state or bidder to come in and keep this hospital which serves an incredibly vulnerable and marginalized population alive,” said Carney Hospital ER nurse practitioner Stephen Wood.

In an effort to avoid a closure, the Massachusetts Nurses Association is urging the governor and mayors to declare a health emergency, draw from the state’s $8 billion "rainy day" fund, and as a last resort, seize the hospitals through eminent domain.

“[We’re] looking to make sure we're pulling together the whole landscape of health care providers across different city boundaries so that we can just have every resource on the table,” said Boston Mayor Michelle Wu.

Steward Health Care has not responded to requests by NBC10 Boston to explain why it won’t sell the hospitals instead of closing them.

Insight Health, another health care group, confirmed Tuesday that they submitted a bid to buy all eight Steward Hospitals, but no deal was reached.

“Insight Health System submitted a bid to acquire all eight hospitals currently operated by Steward Health System in Massachusetts. As a clinician-led organization, Insight Health System believes in providing equitable access to healthcare services for all, and we deeply understand how damaging the closure of healthcare facilities can be to local communities. We have proven experience in transforming distressed healthcare facilities into financially stable pillars of community health services with patient care that is second to none – something we have done in Southside, Chicago; Flint, Michigan; and stand ready and able to do here in Massachusetts," wrote Atif Bawahab, chief strategy officer at Insight Health System, when asked for comment.

Ayer’s Select Board is having a meeting over this issue on Tuesday, and the Boston City Council is expected to address it on Wednesday.

The Steward Health Care CEO has been subpoenaed by the US Senate and is expected to testify on September 12.