Steward Health Care has finalized a deal to sell four Massachusetts hospitals to new owners, a move aimed at preventing those facilities from closing after months of concerns that communities could lose vital health care services.
The Dallas-based company said Thursday it has reached “definitive agreements” to sell St. Anne’s and Morton hospitals to Providence-based Lifespan Health System and both Holy Family Hospital campuses to Lawrence General Hospital.
The company, which has been working toward a bankruptcy filing for the past year, also said it was “finalizing an agreement” to sell Good Samaritan Medical Center in Brockton and St. Elizabeth Medical Center in Brighton to Boston Medical Center.
John Castellano, chief restructuring officer for Steward Health Care, said the company is “pleased” to have found buyers for the four health care organizations as Steward continues its bankruptcy process.
“In Lifespan, Lawrence General Hospital and Boston Medical Center, we have found partners with a strong track record of treating patients in communities across the Northeast U.S. Through these transactions, the people of the Commonwealth will continue to receive much-needed care while Steward remains focused on its ongoing Chapter 11 process,” Castellano said in a statement.
Gov. Maura Healey announced preliminary deals for the four hospitals earlier this month and said some hospitals may be transferred to new operators.
“This agreement achieves our goal of preserving and protecting health care services and jobs in southeastern Massachusetts and the Merrimack Valley while removing Steward Health Care from Massachusetts once and for all,” Healey said in a statement announcing the deal.
“I welcome Lifespan and its leadership and team to southeastern Massachusetts and thank Lawrence General Hospital for stepping up to protect health care in the Merrimack Valley. It will take all of us to get this done,” she continued.
Tim Foley, executive vice president of 1199SEIU, the union that represents health care workers, said health care workers are “extremely relieved” that four Steward Health Care hospitals in Massachusetts have finally changed hands after months of uncertainty.
“Now that Stewart’s greed and mismanagement at these locations are gone, we can turn our full attention to the important work of rebuilding our hospitals and caring for our patients,” Foley said in a statement. “We urge Stewart to expedite the sale of St. Elizabeth and Good Samaritan hospitals so that health care workers — and the patients who rely on our care — can stop living in fear and focus on the future.”
Kearney Hospital in Dorchester and Nashua Valley Medical Center in Ayer are still scheduled to close Saturday.
The Healey administration is trying to seize St. Elizabeth Medical Center through eminent domain, but is facing resistance from the asset management company that controls the facility.
“We will continue to work to expedite an agreement for another qualified operator to take over Good Samaritan Hospital, advance plans to take control of St. Elizabeth Hospital through eminent domain, and support the communities impacted by the closing of the Nashua Valley and Kearny hospitals,” Healey said in a statement.
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