Salvatore “Sal” Perla is stepping in as interim president of Holy Family Hospital in Methuen and Haverhill just as the state’s federal delegation raised concerns Tuesday about parent company Steward Health Care’s finances.
Perla, currently president of Steward’s Norwood Hospital and Nashoba Valley Medical Center will be joined by Justine DeFronzo, who will serve as chief administrative officer of the three hospitals. As WHAV reported last Friday, Craig A. Jesiolowski, president of Holy Family Hospital since 2016, is leaving the hospital to oversee two hospitals in Illinois. Jesiolowski’s notice followed a series of unfavorable news for the parent company. Holy Family’s landlord, Medical Properties Trust, earlier this month said Steward’s “total unpaid rent under its consolidated master lease with MPT is approximately $50 million” as of the end of December. Last month, Steward Health Care said it would close its New England Sinai Acute Long-Term Care and Rehabilitation Hospital by early April. Earlier last year, Steward won a temporary restraining order to keep a dialysis services vendor, Fresenius Management Services, from ending services due to nonpayment.
In a letter Tuesday to Steward CEO Ralph de la Torre, U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey and Reps. Seth Moulton and Lori Trahan and others pressed Steward’s CEO to brief them on the company’s financial position, status of their Massachusetts facilities and plans to “ensure the communities they serve are not abandoned.”
“The abrupt closure of Steward’s Massachusetts hospitals would significantly limit access to inpatient critical care and inpatient behavioral health care, as well as maternal and newborn health services in eastern Massachusetts,” said the lawmakers. “The burden of Steward hospital closures would be borne primarily by the Massachusetts residents who already experience the greatest challenges accessing health care.”
The legislators added, “We are encouraged that Steward officials are engaged in conversations with state officials. However, residents, workers, regulators and elected officials must have a seat at the table for conversations about Steward’s plans for the future to ensure continued access to high quality medical care in their communities.”
Perla joined Steward in 2013. According to Nashoba’s website, he previously served as vice president of Milford Regional Medical Center where he oversaw clinical operations, program development and real estate. He began his career in Boston as a scientist specializing in microbiology and epidemiology. Perla is a graduate of Northeastern University and holds a master’s degree in health care administration and a doctorate in public health with a focus on population health management with a sub-specialty in care coordination for individuals with mental illness.
DeFronzo was named president of New England Sinai Hospital in 2022. According to the hospital’s website, she previously served as chief nursing officer and chief operating officer at Carney Hospital in Dorchester and Norwood Hospital’s vice president and chief nursing officer.