BOSTON ― Gov. Maura Healey called it a “good day for Massachusetts” as she announced deals to save most of the state’s hospitals in the bankrupt Steward Health Care System.
“This is a new and better chapter for what it will do for patient care,” Healey said of the complicated agreement that was hammered out in federal bankruptcy court earlier in the day.
Here’s what to know about the latest developments.
Which hospitals are involved in the deal?
There are four Steward hospitals, spread across five campuses, that will be sold:
Additionally, the state will purchase Saint Elizabeth’s Hospital in Boston through eminent domain and will transition it to a new operator once the process has been finalized.
Who will take over the medical facilities?
Lifespan Health System, based in Rhode Island, will take over Saint Anne’s in Fall River and Morton Hospital in Taunton. Lifespan will become Brown University Health in 2024.
Boston Medical Center will take over Good Samaritan Hospital in Brockton
Lawrence General Hospital will take over both campuses of the Holy Family network in Haverhill and Methuen
What actions are necessary to save Saint Elizabeth’s?
Because the facility did receive a qualified bid, from Boston Medical Center, state officials were comfortable using the power of eminent domain to wrest the property from its landlord, Apollo Global Management. The governor said the landlord was “dragging its feet” in the bankruptcy process and has refused to “move.”
The state will send an offer letter to the landlord totaling $4.5 million, an amount determined to be fair market value for the property. Once the offer is accepted, the state will take control of the facility and transition the hospital to its new owner.
Why doesn’t the governor use eminent domain to save Carney Hospital and Nashoba Valley Medical Center?
Chronic underinvestment in the health care providers has made them less appealing to new owners and neither received qualified bids. The governor blamed the damage inflicted on the centers by Steward CEO Ralph de la Torre and his leadership team on the lack of interest by bidders.
“They ran them to a point where no one came forward to take them on,” Healey said. The hospitals will continue to operate through the end of the month when a federal bankruptcy judge sitting in Texas has authorized their shuttering.
“If a qualified operator were to miraculously appear,” said Healey, the state could implement the same measures for those facilities.
What happens to the Steward Physicians Network?
The deal to sell the network is ongoing; the physicians in the group will remain in their practices providing medical service to residents despite the anticipated closure of the two remaining hospitals, according to Dr. Robbie Goldstein, Massachusetts Commissioner of Public Health. Even if the hospitals close, the medical office buildings will remain open and staffed with physicians in their practices.
How dire was the situation involving Steward Health Care?
The actions of Steward Health Care management brought the Massachusetts health care system to the “brink of collapse,” Healey said. The transfer of the health care centers to their new operators, Healey believes, will improve the quality of care provided.
“It will be a new and better chapter for patient care,” Healey said.
How long will the transition take?
The state will support the transition with cash advances, capital support and maximizing federal matches. And it has already advanced $30 million in Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements to keep Carney and Nashoba Valley open through the end of the month.
