Lawmakers rally against Steward Health Care's plan to close 2 Mass. hospitals

The state of Massachusetts plans to provide $30 million to support Steward Health Care hospitals that are transitioning to new owners, according to court documents.

That money would go toward supporting the six hospitals that are transitioning from Steward to new owners, as well as keeping Carney Hospital in Boston's Dorchester neighborhood and Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer operating for the next month — until they're slated to close.

This was detailed in an emergency motion filed in Steward Health Care's bankruptcy case, which still needs to be approved.

However, with the "commitment" outlined in the filing, it appears the first payment of just over $11 million would be made Thursday, with the second payment of nearly $19 million to be made in mid-August.

State House News Service reports that Gov. Maura Healey's office described the payments as "advances" on Medicaid funds that the state owes Steward and they said they're contingent upon an orderly movement toward new ownership, and cannot be used for rental payments, debt service or management fees.

As announced Friday, Nashoba Valley and Carney hospitals are slated to close by Aug. 31, while Stewards remaining six hospitals have "reputable bidders."

"[Carney Hospital] has been the heart of our health care community here in the Dorchester and surrounding communities," Congressman Stephen Lynch said Monday during a press conference. "So, the news of that closure was a real shock, a real kick in the gut to the Dorchester neighborhood."

Lynch said Steward's closure announcement "violates state law, state regulations and federal law." He said the company is supposed to provide a 120-day notice, a formal notice 90 days out of a hearing and a notice to the workers with ample notice of severance pay and benefits if the closure was to be final.

"But all of that was short circuited in the bankruptcy court announcement two days ago that Steward would close Carney Hospital...and the Nashoba Valley hospital," he said. "Just as Steward Health Care has protections in bankruptcy court, we believe the neighborhood has rights, too."

Lynch said they are pushing back on this effort to close Carney Hospital, adding that they want the "full rights that are entitled to [the] neighbors, to the families, to [the] employees [and] to the patients."

Sen. Ed Markey said Andrew Carney, founder of Carney Hospital, is "rolling in his grave right now at what Steward Health Care has done to his legacy."

"Greedy corporations feed on community anchors, such as Carney Hospital," said Markey. "Steward and the private equity firms saw the community reliance on this hospital as an opportunity to make money, and it means they knew the risk when they piled debt onto this hospital. "

Markey said they will make Steward Health Care and its CEO, Dr. Ralph de la Torre, "answer for their greed."

De la Torre, he said, should be forced to sell his yacht and private planes to ensure they can pay doctors, nurses and workers at the hospitals.

The company's CEO will have to testify in front of a Senate committee in September, where he will answer questions Carney Hospital workers want him to answer about how "he looted this hospital of its ability to be able to provide for the healthcare of the community," Markey said.

Markey said he will be sending a letter to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, calling on the court to mandate that Steward Health Care comply with its legal requirements for hospital closure, to reduce and restructure the hospital leases with medical property trust and to direct any revenue from the hospital sales towards the Commonwealth's healthcare system.

The senator didn't specify when he will be sending that letter to the court.

"For our low-income neighbors who already face significant barriers to care, [the closure] could mean longer waits and more expensive care or simply denial of care," added Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley. "For our Black and brown communities who have been historically underserved and overlooked, it would mean even greater health disparities."

Mayor Michelle Wu said Boston will do "everything we can to support the ongoing state and federal investigations into Steward, Ralph de la Torre and the parties responsible for this collapse."

The city and Boston Public Health Commission will be partnering with Healey and the state's Department of Public Health to make sure there's a "clear path forward to meet the needs of this community," added Wu.

"We are calling on Steward to provide a transparent plan," said Wu. "They cannot get away with breaking the law."

The closures of Carney Hospital and Nashoba Valley Medical Center will impact roughly 1,500 Steward employees, according to the filing.