Massachusetts congressman tours hospitals owned by troubled Steward Health Care

RHONDELLA ED YOU MIGHT SAY A FULL WORKUP IS UNDERWAY LOOKING AT STUART HEALTH GIVING THE CRITICAL SITUATION. WE’VE ALL HEARD OF ITS $50 MILLION IN UNPAID RENT. WELL, THIS IS NEW. WE’RE HEARING THAT THERE’S REPORTEDLY INTEREST FROM AN OUTSIDE OPERATOR, POTENTIALLY A BUYER. AND, CONGRESSMAN LYNCH IS HERE ASKING QUESTIONS OF THE STAFF, ALL WHILE THE STATE GIVES STUART A FRIDAY DEADLINE TO GET THAT FINANCIAL DOCUMENTS OUT TO INVESTIGATIONS. ONE IS OPERATIONAL INVESTIGATION JUST TO SEE WHAT’S WHAT’S HAPPENING HERE. AND I GOT AN EARFUL. DID EVERYBODY COME IN TODAY WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO. AND DO THEY HAVE THE STUFF THEY NEED TO DO THEIR JOB? CONGRESSMAN STEPHEN LYNCH TOURED THE NOW STALLED REBUILD OF NORWOOD HOSPITAL, SAYING OVER THE SUMMER, CONTRACTORS. AND VENDORS WEREN’T EVEN PAID. BROCKTON GOOD SAMARITAN HOSPITAL, A STUART PROPERTY. THE NEXT TOUR STOP, STATE AND LOCAL LEADERS WENT FLOOR TO FLOOR. PEOPLE ARE VERY TIRED. IT’S BEEN ONE CHALLENGE AFTER ANOTHER, HAVING BIDS FOR 40 PATIENTS AND HAVING 80 PATIENTS THERE. YOU KNOW, IT’S JUST WE’RE OVER CAPACITY. CERTAINLY WHEN YOU LOOK AT A VOLUME MAGNIFICATION LIKE WE’VE SEEN, IT’S HARD TO MAGNIFY YOUR STAFF AT THE SAME RATE. SO THAT’S BEEN A CHALLENGE. PART OF WHAT THE WHAT WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND IS HOW DEBTS ARE ALLOCATED. WHILE THE GOVERNOR IS VOWING NO STUART BAILOUT WITHOUT MORE FINANCIALS, SENATOR ELIZABETH WARREN BELIEVES THE FOR PROFIT SYSTEM PUT PROFIT OVER PATIENT CARE FOR THE CEO TO SIT OFFSHORE ON HIS YACHT AND FOR THE PRIVATE INVESTORS WHO ALREADY TOOK AWAY LITERALLY HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS. WHILE PEOPLE SUFFER HERE IN THIS COMMONWEALTH, THEY JUST HAVE TO HELP THE HOSPITALS. THAT WOULD BE MORE IMPORTANT. FOOD AND CARE, HEALTH CARE. WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND ALL THE DIMENSIONS OF THIS PROBLEM TO MAKE THE RIGHT CHOICES. FOR THE PATIENTS, FOR THE PEOPLE WHO COME TO WORK EVERY DAY. I MEAN, 16,000 PEOPLE ARE EMPLOYED BY STUART HOSPITALS. THIS IS A VERY BIG DEAL. SENATOR ED MARKEY ALSO SPEAKING OUT, CALLING FOR AN INVESTIGATION ON THE SITUATION AND THE STATE IS CALLING FOR MONITORING AND OVERSIGHT AT THE NINE IN STATE STUA

A Massachusetts congressman and other state leaders still have questions after visiting two hospitals run by Steward Health Care, a company that is in dire financial straits.U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch was among those who toured the Norwood Hospital construction site and Brockton's Good Samaritan Medical Center on Wednesday, a day after Gov. Maura Healey called on Steward chief executive officer Ralph de la Torre to sell the facilities it operates in the state to new operators as soon as possible.Steward Health Care, which is based in Dallas, reportedly owes $50 million in unpaid rent and operates the following hospitals in Massachusetts: Carney Hospital in Dorchester, Good Samaritan Medical Center in Brockton, Holy Family in Haverhill and Methuen, Morton Hospital in Taunton, Nashoba Valley Medical Center, New England Sinai Hospital, Norwood Hospital, Saint Anne’s Hospital in Fall River and St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Brighton."What has happened to the $150 million that the federal government and the congressional delegation steered into the Steward system over the last few years," Lynch asked while standing outside the Norwood Hospital building that remains under construction more than 3 1/2 years after a catastrophic flood devastated the original hospital.Lynch also said contractors and vendors working on the new Norwood Hospital were not paid over the summer."It was the intention of Steward Health Care to exit the Massachusetts health care market. Now bear in mind, they have nine hospitals," the congressman said.State and local leaders then went floor to floor at Good Samaritan Medical Center, which has been Brockton's only operating hospital for more than a year due to a February 2023 fire that shuttered Brockton Hospital. Signature Healthcare, which operates Brockton Hospital, hopes to reopen the facility late this spring."The entire system is in deep financial distress, and I think that part of what we need to understand is how debt's allocated," said Massachusetts Secretary of Health and Human Services Kate Walsh.In a letter sent to de la Torre, Healey also demanded that his company produce financial records to the state that are required of other health care systems, but that the governor claims Steward has refused to submit for years.U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the senior senator in Massachusetts, believes Steward Health Care puts profits over patient care."For the CEO to sit offshore on his yacht and for the private investors who already took away literally hundreds of millions of dollars, while people suffer here in this commonwealth, is not right," Warren said.Patients of Good Samaritan Medical Center said they do not want a merger, bankruptcy filing or closure, and the head of the Brockton Neighborhood Health Center said the hospital's load cannot be shifted elsewhere."For the first time ever, we have a waiting list for adult primary care," said BNHC chief executive officer Susan Joss.Walsh said Steward Health Care will not be allowed to just pull the plug on its facilities in Massachusetts."My team, we are very focused on making sure that that happens in an orderly, patient-focused, staff-focused way," Walsh said. "We can't just say: 'We're out of here.'"Healey's administration said the financial records the governor is calling for by the close of business on Friday would provide critical insight into where Steward is prioritizing its resources across the country and whether the company chose to put profits over patient care."For more than a decade, Steward hospitals have served as a key healthcare provider to some of Massachusetts’ most vulnerable citizens and communities. As such, we have been working closely with state officials – including providing extensive financial records as requested as well as on-site monitors and cooperation with the Department of Public Health and others. In late 2023 and early 2024, Steward gave regulators in the Commonwealth the audited financial documentation they had requested and is continuing to cooperate closely," reads a statement from Steward Health Care in response to Healey's letter. "We look forward to working cooperatively with the Governor on a solution we all agree must be found to guarantee continuity of care for more than one million patients in the vulnerable communities we serve throughout the Commonwealth."In her letter, Healey also called on de la Torre to take several immediate steps to protect access to care at Steward's facilities, including ensuring safe staffing and appropriate supply levels and allowing for increased monitoring from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.The State House News Service, a WCVB media partner, reported Wednesday, after Lynch's and Walsh's tours of the Steward properties, that Steward Health Care's landlord said the company's hospitals have drawn significant interest from other potential operators, the latest hint that facilities might soon be transferred away from the financially floundering for-profit system.

BROCKTON, Mass. —

A Massachusetts congressman and other state leaders still have questions after visiting two hospitals run by Steward Health Care, a company that is in dire financial straits.

U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch was among those who toured the Norwood Hospital construction site and Brockton's Good Samaritan Medical Center on Wednesday, a day after Gov. Maura Healey called on Steward chief executive officer Ralph de la Torre to sell the facilities it operates in the state to new operators as soon as possible.

Steward Health Care, which is based in Dallas, reportedly owes $50 million in unpaid rent and operates the following hospitals in Massachusetts: Carney Hospital in Dorchester, Good Samaritan Medical Center in Brockton, Holy Family in Haverhill and Methuen, Morton Hospital in Taunton, Nashoba Valley Medical Center, New England Sinai Hospital, Norwood Hospital, Saint Anne’s Hospital in Fall River and St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Brighton.

"What has happened to the $150 million that the federal government and the congressional delegation steered into the Steward system over the last few years," Lynch asked while standing outside the Norwood Hospital building that remains under construction more than 3 1/2 years after a catastrophic flood devastated the original hospital.

Lynch also said contractors and vendors working on the new Norwood Hospital were not paid over the summer.

"It was the intention of Steward Health Care to exit the Massachusetts health care market. Now bear in mind, they have nine hospitals," the congressman said.

State and local leaders then went floor to floor at Good Samaritan Medical Center, which has been Brockton's only operating hospital for more than a year due to a February 2023 fire that shuttered Brockton Hospital. Signature Healthcare, which operates Brockton Hospital, hopes to reopen the facility late this spring.

"The entire [Steward] system is in deep financial distress, and I think that part of what we need to understand is how debt's allocated," said Massachusetts Secretary of Health and Human Services Kate Walsh.

In a letter sent to de la Torre, Healey also demanded that his company produce financial records to the state that are required of other health care systems, but that the governor claims Steward has refused to submit for years.

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the senior senator in Massachusetts, believes Steward Health Care puts profits over patient care.

"For the CEO to sit offshore on his yacht and for the private investors who already took away literally hundreds of millions of dollars, while people suffer here in this commonwealth, is not right," Warren said.

Patients of Good Samaritan Medical Center said they do not want a merger, bankruptcy filing or closure, and the head of the Brockton Neighborhood Health Center said the hospital's load cannot be shifted elsewhere.

"For the first time ever, we have a waiting list for adult primary care," said BNHC chief executive officer Susan Joss.

Walsh said Steward Health Care will not be allowed to just pull the plug on its facilities in Massachusetts.

"My team, we are very focused on making sure that that happens in an orderly, patient-focused, staff-focused way," Walsh said. "We can't just say: 'We're out of here.'"

Healey's administration said the financial records the governor is calling for by the close of business on Friday would provide critical insight into where Steward is prioritizing its resources across the country and whether the company chose to put profits over patient care.

"For more than a decade, Steward hospitals have served as a key healthcare provider to some of Massachusetts’ most vulnerable citizens and communities. As such, we have been working closely with state officials – including providing extensive financial records as requested as well as on-site monitors and cooperation with the Department of Public Health and others. In late 2023 and early 2024, Steward gave regulators in the Commonwealth the audited financial documentation they had requested and is continuing to cooperate closely," reads a statement from Steward Health Care in response to Healey's letter. "We look forward to working cooperatively with the Governor on a solution we all agree must be found to guarantee continuity of care for more than one million patients in the vulnerable communities we serve throughout the Commonwealth."

In her letter, Healey also called on de la Torre to take several immediate steps to protect access to care at Steward's facilities, including ensuring safe staffing and appropriate supply levels and allowing for increased monitoring from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

The State House News Service, a WCVB media partner, reported Wednesday, after Lynch's and Walsh's tours of the Steward properties, that Steward Health Care's landlord said the company's hospitals have drawn significant interest from other potential operators, the latest hint that facilities might soon be transferred away from the financially floundering for-profit system.

Massachusetts congressman tours hospitals owned by troubled Steward Health Care

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