Massachusetts Public Health Commissioner Robbie Goldstein said Wednesday that officials are in the dark for now on how the critical bidding process worked out for Steward Health Care's hospitals in Massachusetts.
Bids were due Monday as part of Steward's complex bankruptcy proceedings. Goldstein told the Public Health Council on Wednesday morning that he had no information on the bids submitted, and expressed hope that updates would come later in the day.
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"We'd hoped we would have some information about these bids yesterday, but as of early this morning, we have not heard from Steward or others about the bidding process -- nothing about the bidders, the number of bids, or whether all the hospitals received bids has been shared with the department," Goldstein said during the virtual council meeting.
Steward took bids on its seven hospitals operating in Massachusetts: Good Samaritan Medical Center in Brockton, Morton Hospital in Taunton, St. Anne's Hospital in Fall River, St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Brighton, Carney Hospital in Dorchester, Holy Family Hospital with campuses in Methuen and Haverhill, and Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer.
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Norwood Hospital, which is temporarily closed, was not included in the sale process.
Steward is required to provide a proposed transition plan if a hospital does not receive a qualified bid, Attorney General Andrea Campbell's office said in a court filing. The office also noted that state health care regulations require hospitals to transition or close their facilities "in a safe manner and in accordance with specified timeframes."
An auction is scheduled for Thursday for hospitals that received multiple bids, though Goldstein said that timeline could be pushed back as Steward looks to solicit more interest from prospective buyers. After the auction, Steward has a sale hearing scheduled in U.S. Bankruptcy Court on July 31.
"We at DPH will be ready to move forward with regulatory processes to transition Steward hospitals to new operators," Goldstein said. "We remain resolute about preserving access to safe, quality health care for all residents of the commonwealth. We'll soon know what it will take to fully execute on that promise, but for now, we wait."
More on Steward Health Care
In an ongoing trend, the number of patients seeking care at "many" Steward hospitals is declining, Goldstein said. Non-Steward hospitals, in turn, have recorded an increase in emergency department visits and inpatient admissions.
DPH monitors remain deployed at Steward hospitals to ensure safety for patients and health care providers, the commissioner said. Health officials are also bracing for worker shortages at Steward hospitals, but Goldstein said Steward has "been able to manage the situation in most cases."
"We also have been regularly meeting with our partners in the health care community, and there seems to be a collective understanding that the transition of Steward hospitals will have an impact on the health care ecosystem in eastern Massachusetts," Goldstein said. "It's been quite uplifting to speak with hospital CEOs, the Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association, community health center leaders, and the Mass. League of Community Health Centers to hear firsthand from this group that they're ready to do what is needed to protect health care for those caught up in these challenges through no fault of their own."
