Steward Health Care has signed agreements to sell four Massachusetts hospitals to new owners, a move that will avert the closure of those facilities after months of concern that communities could lose access to critical medical facilities.
The Dallas-based company announced Thursday that it has signed “definitive agreements” to sell St. Ann’s Hospital and Morton Hospital to Providence-based Lifespan Health System and both Holy Family Hospital campuses to Lawrence General Hospital.
The company, which has been going through bankruptcy proceedings for the past year, said it is “finalizing agreements” to sell both Good Samaritan Medical Center in Brockton and St. Elizabeth Medical Center in Brighton to Boston Medical Center.
Steward Healthcare Chief Restructuring Officer John Castellano said he is “very pleased” that Steward has found a buyer for the four facilities as the company moves through bankruptcy proceedings.
“Lifespan, Lawrence General Hospital and Boston Medical Center are proven partners in caring for communities across the Northeast United States. Through these transactions, Massachusetts people will continue to have access to vital health care while Steward focuses on its ongoing Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings,” Castellano said in a statement.
Gov. Maura Healey announced tentative agreements for the four facilities earlier this month, signaling the possibility of transferring some hospitals to new operators.
“This agreement achieves our goal of preserving and protecting access to health care and jobs in southeastern Massachusetts and the Merrimack Valley, while simultaneously removing Steward Health Care from Massachusetts entirely,” Healey said in a statement announcing the agreement.
“I welcome Lifespan, its leadership and team to southeastern Massachusetts and thank Lawrence General Hospital for their commitment to sustaining care in the Merrimack Valley. We will all work hard to see this through,” she continued.
Tim Foley, vice president of 1199SEIU, the union that represents health care workers, said the move comes as “incredible relief” for health care workers after months of uncertainty as four Steward Healthcare hospitals in Massachusetts are under new ownership.
“Now that Steward’s greed and mismanagement at these facilities has been exposed, we can focus our efforts on the important work of rebuilding our hospitals and caring for our patients,” Foley said in a statement. “We call on Steward to quickly complete the sale of St. Elizabeth and Good Samaritan Hospitals so that our health care workers and the patients who rely on our care can stop living in fear and look to the future.”
Kearney Hospital in Dorchester and Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer are scheduled to close by Saturday.
The Healey administration is trying to take over St. Elizabeths Medical Center through eminent domain, but is facing resistance from the asset management company that manages the facility.
“We will continue to work as quickly as possible to complete an agreement with another qualified operator to take over Good Samaritan Hospital, move forward with our plan to manage St. Elizabeths Hospital through eminent domain, and support the communities affected by the upcoming closures of Nashoba Valley Hospital and Kearney Hospital,” Healey said in a statement.
First published: August 29, 2024, 1:00 PM
