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BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Steward Health Care plans to close Carney Hospital in Dorchester and Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer later this summer, the company announced Friday.
The bankrupt for-profit hospital chain has spent months trying to sell eight of its Massachusetts facilities in an effort to resolve its financial woes: Carney Hospital, Nashoba Valley Medical Center, Good Samaritan Medical Center in Brockton, Holy Family Hospital with campuses in Haverhill and Methuen, Morton Hospital in Taunton, St. Anne's Hospital in Fall River, and St. Elizabeth's Medical Center in Brighton. Norwood Hospital, which has been closed since 2020 due to flood damage, was not included in the sale process.
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"Over the past several months, Steward Health Care has been actively working to sell or transition all its Massachusetts hospitals and we are in active final negotiations to sell six of them," Steward said in a statement. "Despite the extensive sale process, which involved close coordination with lenders and regulators, there were no qualified bids for two hospitals, Carney Hospital and Nashoba Valley Medical Center, and, unfortunately, they will be closing on or around August 31, 2024."
"This is a challenging and unfortunate situation, and the effect it will have on our patients, our employees, and the communities we serve is regrettable," the statement continued. "We will do all we can to ensure a smooth transition for those affected while continuing to provide quality care to the patients we will continue to serve.
We will work closely with our Carney and Nashoba patients to help them find the best possible care alternative and with our valued employees and health care professionals to assist with this very difficult transition. Further, we have notified and are closely coordinating with the appropriate state and federal agencies on the closure process."
In a statement, Gov. Maura Healey criticized Steward and its CEO Dr. Ralph de la Torre's "greed and mismanagement" for "resulting in the closures of Carney and Nashoba Valley hospitals."
"These hospitals have long served their communities – their closures are about more than the loss of beds, doctors, and nurses. We want to assure the people of Massachusetts that we have prepared diligently for this moment and will take all available steps to help facilitate a smooth transition for impacted patients and employees," Healey said.
Earlier this week, Healey told reporters Steward had received qualified bids for all of the hospitals up for sale.
1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, which represents thousands of healthcare workers in Massachusetts, also released a statement on the situation.
"Steward Health Care’s decision to close Carney Hospital and Nashoba Valley Medical Center is devastating, which will create hospital deserts and exacerbate health inequities in the communities they serve," 1199SEIU said. "Patients across Massachusetts will now ultimately pay the price of Steward’s mismanagement if care is pushed miles away and ER capacities reach crisis level. The future of care in Massachusetts is at risk. The healthcare workers of 1199SEIU urge all stakeholders to establish and implement a transition plan that helps mitigate the reduction of care in these communities."
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