Sen. Edward J. Markey says the resignation of Steward Health CEO Ralph de la Torre will continue to be held accountable in Congress and the courts for the company’s greed “while patients suffered and died and workers and hospitals went unresourced.”
The U.S. Senate voted unanimously last week to refer de la Torre for criminal contempt of Congress for failing to respond to a subpoena issued by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions—or HELP—Committee. It was the first time the Senate has taken such a step in more than 50 years.
“Ralph de la Torre’s resignation is not enough, and must be held accountable in the court of law. This resignation comes too late for the workers, patients and communities that Mr. de Torre harmed and abandoned,” Markey said. The senator serves as chair of the HELP Subcommittee on Primary Health and Retirement Security. “As a physician and CEO of Steward, de la Torre knew the cost of his greed and mismanagement, and he allowed it to rot the financial security of an entire hospital system anyway,” he added.
Announced Saturday, de la Torre’s resignation takes effect Tuesday—the day Holy Family Hospitals in Haverhill and Methuen begin operations under the Lawrence General Hospital. Hospital officials said the campuses will continue to carry the Holy Family name at least in the “near term.”