Steward Health Care abandons Norwood Hospital in Massachusetts
Norwood Hospital has not been part of the bankruptcy proceedings of Steward's 31 facilities nationwide.
Photo: John Fedele/Getty Images
Steward Health Care is closing Norwood Hospital and four satellite facilities in Massachusetts and abandoning the properties, according to bankruptcy filing in federal court in Texas on Monday.
The satellite facilities include Norwood Performance Therapy in Norwood, Norwood Hospital Cancer Care Center in Foxborough, Foxboro in Foxborough and Guild Imaging Center of Norwood Hospital in Norwood.
The proposed closure date is November 5.
Norwood Hospital has been closed since 2020 due to flooding damage and has been under construction, but the four satellite facilities have continued to operate under the Norwood Hospital license, according to WBUR in Boston.
Norwood Hospital has not been a part of the bankruptcy proceedings of its 31 facilities nationwide.
The property has been under the control of Steward's landlord, Medical Properties Trust. Any developer or hospital operator that might want to finish the construction and reopen the hospital would need first make a deal with Medical Properties Trust, according to the WBUR report.
WHY THIS MATTERS
The closure involves the discharge of patients "in the ordinary course," and identifies appropriate alternative locations for outpatients, according to the bankruptcy filing.
Steward said it "intends to attempt to assist employees in finding job placement elsewhere, including by notifying the Massachusetts Department of Labor and Department of Unemployment Assistance."
THE LARGER TREND
Steward Health Care filed for bankruptcy in May and put together a plan to sell its 31 hospitals to address its $9 billion debt:
Since then it has closed two hospitals in Massachusetts: Carney Hospital in Dorchester and Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer.
Its CEO Dr. Ralph de la Torre has stepped down and has been held in contempt by a Senate committee for failing to abide by a subpoena to appear before the committee.
De la Torre has brought a lawsuit against the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions and its members.
Email the writer: SMorse@himss.org
