“Enough is enough,” Gov. Maura Healey declared Friday as she announced that all the bankrupt Steward Health Care hospitals still up for sale have new owners lined up and that the state is going to assist in the transitions with financing and, in one case, the use of its property-taking powers.
The governor said deals in principle have been struck to transition four Steward hospitals on five campuses to new owners: Lawrence General Hospital will buy the Holy Family Hospital facilities in Methuen and Haverhill, Lifespan will take over Morton Hospital in Taunton and Saint Anne’s Hospital in Fall River, and Boston Medical Center will buy Good Samaritan Medical Center in Brockton, as long as the deals are finalized and approved.
Massachusetts state government will take the fifth for-sale hospital, St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Brighton, by eminent domain in order to keep it open before it is also transitioned under BMC’s control, Healey said.
The sweeping transition and health care market restructuring plan that Healey announced Friday is expected to require significant involvement from the Legislature. The governor’s office said it has been working with lawmakers on “a fiscally responsible financing plan that includes cash advances, capital support and maximizing federal matches” to support the transition to new operators.
Healey, Health and Human Services Secretary Kate Walsh and Public Health Commissioner Robbie Goldstein will hold a State House press conference at 1 p.m. Friday.
“Today, we are taking steps to save and keep operating the five remaining Steward Hospitals, protecting access to care in those communities and preserving the jobs of the hard-working women and men who work at those hospitals,” Healey said. “Our team under Secretary Kate Walsh worked day in and day out to secure new, responsible, qualified operators who will protect and improve care for their communities. We’re grateful for the close collaboration of…