Steward Health Care to sell all U.S. hospitals after declaring bankruptcy
BOSTON – Days after declaring bankruptcy, Steward Health Care is putting all of its U.S. hospitals up for sale.
The privately-owned company plans to auction off all 31 of its hospitals in the U.S., including nine in Massachusetts.
Steward attorney Ray Schrock spoke about the plan on Tuesday during a bankruptcy hearing in Texas, saying the company hopes to keep all of its hospitals open long-term.
When will Steward hospitals be sold?
The company wants to use proceeds from the sales to help pay down its $9 billion in debt.
According to CNN, Steward plans to hold auctions on June 28 for hospitals outside of Florida. The nine Florida hospitals will be auctioned off on July 30.
Steward, based in Dallas, operates hospitals in eight states.
When Steward announced its bankruptcy filing, the company and Massachusetts officials both said they do not expect any interruptions in day-to-day operations.
What happened to Steward Health Care?
Steward has been subject of a year-and-a-half-long CBS News investigation. Records reviewed by CBS News showed Steward hospitals nationwide have unpaid bills. As a result, hospitals risked a shortage of potentially lifesaving supplies.
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey's administration launched a hotline (617-468-2189) and website for patients who have questions.
"I do not want to lose sight of the fact that the situation stems from and is rooted in greed, mismanagement, and lack of transparency on the part of Steward leadership in Dallas, Texas. I have been clear about that, and I will continue to be clear about that. It is a situation that should never have happened, and we will be working together to ensure that there are steps taken to make sure that this does not happen again," Governor Healey said on Monday after Steward declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
