WHAV staff contributed to this report by Alison Kuznitz.
Gov. Maura T. Healey hinted Thursday that Holy Family Hospital’s Haverhill campus might still be saved.
With potential deals, such as Lawrence General Hospital’s potential bid for Holy Family Hospital, still up in the air, the governor’s new mention of six campuses for five Steward Hospitals suggests a potential path for keeping Holy Family Hospital.
As only WHAV reported last Saturday, Sen. Barry R. Finegold s said he didn’t know the contents of Lawrence General Hospital’s final bid, but noted, “I believe the Haverhill Campus of Holy Family is integral to the health care needs of the Merrimack Valley and should he included in LGH bid.”
Healey pleaded Thursday for the company’s lenders to strike a deal to allow the facilities to be sold, acknowledging financial stakes for taxpayers amid repeated delays. The governor confirmed Massachusetts has been sending financial aid to the hospitals to keep them afloat through August, but she wouldn’t say whether the latest snag in U.S. Bankruptcy Court may end up costing Massachusetts more money.
“We’ve been giving some funds to continue operations,” Healey told reporters Thursday afternoon. “You know, that said, it’s all the more reason why we need this deal finalized and transferred to responsible ownership.”
In separate WHAV reports, representatives of the Massachusetts Nurses Association and 1199 SEIU Vice President At-Large Filaine Deronnette called on Healey to tap the state’s $8 billion “rainy day” fund to save Haverhill. Massachusetts Nurses Association spokesman David Schildmeier, for example, told WHAV the union expects all sides to act.
“There is no valid, moral or medical justification for the loss of Holy Family Haverhill. We believe that all parties—the bidder and the state—needs to work this out, and, ultimately, they have to come to agreement. We cannot allow a city of 67, 000 people to be victims of, on one side, corporate greed and, on the other side, inability of state action to invest the resources that are necessary to protect these communities,” he said.
The court previously approved an agreement for Massachusetts to provide $30 million in advance Medicaid payments for Steward hospitals.
State officials earlier this week did not answer questions about whether those payments were made due to the scrambled sales timelines and conflicts with the terms of the agreement. Spokespeople for the state Executive Office of Health and Human Services did not answer questions Thursday about Healey’s comments, including what type of payments—and how much —has been sent to Steward.
Healey, asked whether she was concerned about the most recent sales hearing delay announced Wednesday night, said, “I’m always concerned.”
“I mean, I wanted the deal finalized a long time ago,” Healey said. “But you know, we continue to press on the lender and Apollo to do the deal, and you know, we’re very, very aggressive about that. And I continue to be in the bankruptcy court and outside when we’re having discussions. So, my hope is that they come to their senses and finalize this so that we can proceed with saving these six campuses.”
Healey, who’s recently ratcheted up her criticism of Steward CEO Ralph de la Torre and his recent vacation to Paris during the Olympics, did not hold back her ridicule Thursday.
“Ralph de la Torre is a terrible person. What he did was terrible,” Healey said. “I hope that he’s investigated, prosecuted and held accountable by the federal authorities.”
Still, Healey also noted that de la Torre is “not really in the mix right now” for the bankruptcy proceedings, saying it is up to the lenders and Apollo Global Management, the mortgage lender for Steward’s de facto landlord Medical Properties Trust.
“They need to act and come to their senses, finalize the deal,” Healey said. “There’s a path on the table to save these hospitals. We need it—we need it in the state. I’m going to continue to advocate for that as governor as strongly as I can, and push for that as strongly as I can.”
The governor has previously said she cannot intervene in Steward’s plan to shutter Carney Hospital in Dorchester and Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer.
“We’re the ones helping to finalize and push forward a deal,” the governor said. “Remember, Steward went bankrupt and, you know, that put eight hospitals at risk of all closing up. And what we’ve been working very hard to do is to save as many as we can, which includes six campuses right now if Apollo makes good on the deal. And that’s what we’re asking for.”
Steward is planning to lay off 753 workers at Carney Hospital and 490 at Nashoba Valley Medical Center on Aug. 31. Healey emphasized her interest in ensuring Steward employees at Carney and Nashoba get severance pay. She also said officials are helping to connect the workers with other jobs.
“I am calling on Steward, the lenders—whoever is controlling the pot right now—to make sure that they pay the severances of health care workers and staff who are going to lose jobs at the facilities that are closing. That has to happen, OK?” Healey said.
Healey’s office later Thursday afternoon said the Office of Labor and Workforce Development has been meeting with Steward employees on-site at Carney and Nashoba. Within the next two weeks, MassHire Rapid Response, which supports businesses dealing with layoffs, will hold job fairs at Carney and Nashoba featuring more than 40 health care employers.
The Healey administration said it has helped more than 450 Steward employees so far, including by providing job services and connecting them with employment opportunities.