Healey: 'Nothing I can do' to stop Nashoba Valley Medical Center closure
Photo I WBJ File
Steward Health Care announced the closure of Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer on July 26.
Gov. Maura Healey said Monday that she lacks the authority to keep two Steward Health Care hospitals open, after the bankrupt company signaled Friday its intent to flout state regulations by prematurely shuttering Carney Hospital in Dorchester and Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer.
"Unfortunately there is nothing that I can do to stop the closure of the two hospitals in particular that Steward has announced it's closing," Healey told reporters Monday afternoon. "Look, I've been in this space for a long time, including as attorney general, and I can tell you that what Steward has done, what [CEO] Ralph de la Torre has done, is despicable. And you know, we are paying a price for it right now."
In a statement Friday reacting to Steward's closure news, Healey had vowed, "This is not over." Elected officials and health care leaders decried Steward's abrupt decision and failure to comply with state regulations, which require providers intending to close an essential service to give the Department of Public Health at least 120 days' notice, followed by a formal notice 90 days before the closure.
Steward says it intends to close the two hospitals on Aug. 31. Healey, asked how state officials plan to handle the compressed closure timeline, said there are "rules and regulations that need to be followed."
"Our Department of Public Health and our Health and Human Services branch will continue to work on that and hold people accountable that way," Healey said after signing an IT bond bill. "But I also know that there is something on the table right now that would help us to save five hospitals. That's what I want to do. That is what I want to see happen, and I demand that the lenders step up and do that."
Healey said her administration is focused on protecting jobs and patients, as well as saving the six Steward hospitals in Massachusetts that received qualified bids as the company looks to offload its facilities during ongoing bankruptcy proceedings. They include Saint Elizabeth’s Medical Center, Saint Anne’s Hospital, Good Samaritan Medical Center, Holy Family Hospital-Haverhill, Holy Family Hospital-Methuen and Morton Hospital.
In a bankruptcy court order, Steward said it needs cooperation from its landlords, including Medical Properties Trust that owns the land beneath the hospitals, to move forward in the sale and transfer process.
"It's terribly distressing, I understand that, when a hospital in your community closes," the governor said. "Unfortunately, I don't have the power or the lever to stop that. That's a decision that Steward makes. Certainly, though, we'll do everything we can to smooth a transition there. And I'll say this: We call on Steward right now, who has within its power the ability to work with us on a deal that would save those five hospitals, to step up and act. And I call on their investment bankers to do what is right and step up and act because there's a way to save this right now."
The governor did not answer questions about the possibility of the state appointing receivers over the Carney and Nashoba.
A spokesperson for the Executive Office of Health and Human Services, asked whether receivership was an option, did not directly answer but referenced a "clear pattern" of patients choosing to seek care at non-Steward hospitals. In June, only 13 of the Carney's 83 medical beds were filled on average, and only 11 of Nashoba's 46 beds were filled, the spokesperson said.
At a budget signing press conference later Monday, Healey defended the state's $30 million commitment to support Steward hospitals during their transition to new ownership. A portion of the funding, which does not require legislative appropriation, will be directed toward the hospitals that Steward plans to close, according to court filings.
"Let me be clear, as well: That money is not going to Steward," Healey said. "We have said all along that not a dime goes to Steward. Not a dime will go to Steward, but we all believe in our health care workforce, in our providers here, and most importantly, in making sure that people in the community have access to healthcare."
Though the funding won't go to pad de la Torre's pockets, it is going to help keep Steward facilities afloat. The governor's office on Sunday described the payments as "advances" on Medicaid funds that Massachusetts owes Steward. They are being provided contingent upon an orderly movement toward new ownership, conditioned on hitting transition-related milestones, and cannot be used for rental payments to MPT, debt service or management fees, according to Healey's office.
"This is just an interim measure to provide relief in terms of operating expenses," Healey said. She added that a "lot of people" are coming after Steward and de la Torre for "whatever they've squirreled away."
Healey deputies have said the funding is designed to keep Steward hospitals operational through the end of August. For weeks, onlookers expected a judge to preside over a sale hearing for Steward hospitals on July 31, but parties pushed that event until Aug. 13.
Federal, state and local officials called for action at a press conference in Dorchester Monday morning.
Sen. Nick Collins, who represents the area of Boston that the Carney serves, said that the state should not allow for the expedited closure of the facility, and said he supports a state of emergency at the state and city level to keep the hospital open.
Boston City Councilor John Fitzgerald said he spent most of the weekend on the phone with Collins trying to find solutions.
"I know people are asking what's the plan? There is one and we're working on all the tools that we have," Fitzgerald said. "Trust me, we know we've got 31 days, and we're working hard. This is the priority."
Collins also pointed out that an omnibus hospital oversight bill that passed both branches of the Legislature, and is currently in interbranch negotiations, would give the Department of Public Health receivership power.
He also suggested providing "funding to keep Carney open with enough time to provide for a qualified bidder."
U.S. Sen. Ed Markey, who leads a congressional committee that recently subpoenaed de la Torre, said he sent a letter Monday to the Southern District of Texas bankruptcy court where the Steward proceedings are taking place. In that letter he said he had three demands.
"First, I am demanding that the court mandate Steward Health Care comply with the legal requirements for hospital closures. They must engage in the full and robust process that includes community notice and participation," he said. "Second, I'm calling on the court to reduce and restructure the hospital leases with Medical Properties Trust, that are tying these hospitals to unaffordable rents every single day. And third, I'm calling upon the private equity and real estate creditors to direct any revenue from the hospital sales towards the commonwealth's health care system."
Elected officials and the Massachusetts Nurses Association are scheduled to hold a press conference Tuesday morning at Ayer Town Hall, where they'll urge Healey to "enforce the 120-day notice law before any medical facility closure," according to an advisory from Sen. Jamie Eldridge's office. Attendees include Eldridge and Reps. Dan Sena, Margaret Scarsdale and Natalie Higgins.
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