An announcement Friday that preliminary deals had been reached to hand over control of four Massachusetts hospitals run by Steward Health Care to new, largely local owners was met with relief from residents, unions, elected officials, and industry associations across the state.
Gov. Maura Healey said tentative agreements were in place to transition Saint Anne’s in Fall River, Good Samaritan Medical Center in Brockton, the Holy Family Hospital campuses in Methuen and Haverhill, and Morton Hospital in Taunton away from the bankrupt health care group.
U.S. Sen. Ed Markey said the deals to sell the four hospitals to new owners and a separate state seizure of St. Elizabeth’s in Brighton were a “major step forward in getting Steward out of Massachusetts.”
“This is no thanks to Steward, Medical Properties Trust, Macquarie, and their private equity enablers who repeatedly decided that their profits were more important than the lives and livelihoods they stole,” Markey said in a statement.
Massachusetts Hospital Association President and CEO Steve Walsh said his industry organization is “encouraged” to see “trusted” health systems are on track to take over Steward’s hospitals in Massachusetts.
“In turn, we are hopeful that this process will help alleviate the pressures being felt by other healthcare facilities and give Massachusetts a unique opportunity to create an even more responsive system of the future,” Walsh said in a statement.
Local elected officials in Haverhill and Methuen said their constituents “deserve access” to high-quality health care like the rest of the state.
Haverhill Mayor Melinda Barrett, Reps. Andy Vargas of Haverhill and Ryan Hamilton of Methuen, and Sens. Barry Finegold of Andover and Pavel Payano of Lawrence said Lawrence General Hospital, which plans to take over the Holy Family Hospital campuses, is a “long-standing partner in the region.”
“Their willingness to take over operations is an important step forward in ensuring a long-term plan for Holy Family,” the group said in a statement. “From the beginning of this disheartening process, we have been clear that both Holy Family Methuen and Holy Family Haverhill play critical roles in the delivery of essential healthcare to our communities.”
Back in Brighton, City Councilor Liz Breadon said Healey’s plan to forcibly purchase St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center for $4.5 million from an asset management firm was “the only way to facilitate the transition” to its tentative future owner, Boston Medical Center.
Breadon said the Allston-Brighton community depends on the health care services offered at the hospital.
“The hospital’s current landlord had proven itself unwilling to operate in good faith in selling the facility to one of the qualified bidders willing to take over St. Elizabeth’s. As such, the only path forward was for the state to step in and seize the hospital by eminent domain in order to facilitate the transfer and keep the hospital open,” Breadon said in a statement.
Apollo Global Management, the firm in possession of the facility, declined to comment on the planned seizure of the Brighton hospital.
1199SEIU Executive Vice President Tim Foley, who helps lead a health care union, said the planned seizure is “the exact kind of aggressive action that health workers of 1199SEIU have been demanding from our state leaders.”
“Steward’s hospitals are essential to Massachusetts’ healthcare system, and this bold step will keep them open to serve our patients despite the outrageous financial brinksmanship of Apollo Global Management, Medical Properties Trust, and Steward Health Care,” he said.
But even as many celebrated the apparent rescue plan for four hospitals, others lamented the closure of Carney Hospital and Nashoba Valley Medical Center. Healey said no buyers stepped up to purchase the facilities.
Boston City Councilor Ed Flynn said Healey’s decision to take control of St. Elizabeth’s was “bold and divisive leadership.”
“I am once again calling on Mayor Wu to provide similar courageous and compassionate leadership for the Carney Hospital as well. The Carney Hospital can be saved if we have the determination and will to fight for it,” he said in a statement.
Sen. Nick Collins, a South Boston Democrat, said the deals on the other four hospitals confirm both the state “and the city” have the authority and resources to save community hospitals.
“State and city health officials should now come together to take the same type of bold action to save Carney Hospital,” Collins said in a statement.
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