Steward Health Care, which filed for bankruptcy in May, is planning to sell all of its hospitals, including eight in Massachusetts, during the summer months. The company has outlined a timeline for the sale process and set a deadline for bids on most of the hospitals as June 24. Sales hearings are scheduled to begin on July 2 and approval from a federal judge is required for the plan to move forward.
Since January, Steward has been seeking buyers for many of its hospitals and ultimately filed for bankruptcy due to significant financial debt. Court documents indicate that there is significant interest from “numerous bidders” in the 31 hospitals being sold, located across Massachusetts, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas.
In Massachusetts alone, nine Steward hospitals are being put up for sale. Notably absent from the list is Norwood Hospital, which has been closed since flooding damage nearly four years ago. Steward’s plans for the facility remain uncertain. The state Department of Public Health has had monitors at Steward’s Massachusetts hospitals since January and Governor Maura Healey issued a statement in February urging Steward to exit the state’s hospital industry. The future of Steward’s hospitals continues to unfold amid ongoing sale discussions.
