Boston, MA - Today, U.S. Representatives Stephen F. Lynch (MA-08) and Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) issued a joint statement on the Healey-Driscoll Administration’s preliminary agreement to keep six Steward hospitals open under new operators. Last month, Rep. Lynch and Rep. Pressley rallied with colleagues, patients, and providers to speak out against Steward’s abrupt closure of Carney Hospital in Dorchester.

“The public health crisis created by Steward Health Care’s shameful greed demands an aggressive response that holds Steward accountable and protects the patients, providers, and communities they have failed. The agreement announced yesterday by the Healey-Driscoll Administration—especially the seizure of St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Brighton—is the type of pivotal action needed in this moment, and we urge the Commonwealth to move with the same level of urgency to keep Carney Hospital in Dorchester open as well.

“We remain outraged and devastated for everyone who will be harmed by Carney’s closure, including the veterans, low-income, Black and Brown communities, and non-English speakers who depend on Carney for life-saving care. Since 2022, Carney Hospital has helped tens of thousands of patients that reside in Boston, and we are very concerned about the lack of nearby healthcare sites that have the capacity and resources to provide emergency room services to residents in the area. 

“This crisis was entirely preventable, were it not for Steward Health Care putting profits over people, and their CEO Ralph De La Torre will leave a damning legacy of hurt and harm in the Massachusetts 7th and 8th Districts and across the entire Commonwealth. We will continue to demand full accountability and work together to build a just healthcare system that affirms it as a human right, and prevent crises like these from ever happening again.”