St. Elizabeth Medical Center is one of Steward’s Massachusetts medical centers that received qualified bids to stay afloat. (Herald file photo)
Steward Healthcare’s collapse began several months ago.
January 4th
Steward Health Care owes $50 million in unpaid rent, Medical Properties Trust Inc., the company’s owner, said in a press release.
January 19th
According to the Boston Globe, Steward has been hit with more than 10 lawsuits in Massachusetts since 2022 from vendors and employees over unpaid invoices.
January 25th
At least four of Steward’s hospitals may be in danger of being sold “as soon as possible,” U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch told WCVB.
February 2
Steward has secured a “significant financial transaction” that a person familiar with the matter said on Feb. 2 will “help stabilize” the company and save some of its Massachusetts hospitals from closure.
February 14
The Department of Public Health has expanded its oversight of all nine Steward hospitals, officials said at a Public Health Council meeting.
March 26
In disclosures hinting at further transactions, state health officials received notice March 26 of a proposal to sell Steward Health Care Network, which is under contract with Stewardship Health Inc., to UnitedHealth Group subsidiary OptumCare.
April 3
Steward Health CEO Ralph de la Torre was notable for his empty seat at an April 3 U.S. Senate hearing into the company’s catastrophic financial mismanagement at its Massachusetts hospital.
May 3
The state Department of Public Health activated an “emergency operations plan” that includes a locally focused “incident command system.”
May 6
Steward filed for bankruptcy on May 6 and announced that it had “commenced an in-court reorganization process” under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.
May 8
Steward’s bankruptcy lawyers told a Texas court that all of the company’s hospitals are scheduled to be auctioned this summer.
May 20
A senior living facility owner and health care management consultant has been appointed through a U.S. bankruptcy court to monitor patient care at a Steward Healthcare facility in Massachusetts and immediately report any “significant deterioration” in the quality of care.
June 12
A bankruptcy court approved a $225 million loan to Steward to keep the company’s hospitals open.
June 20
The first round of sales through auction of hospitals for the now-bankrupt Steward Healthcare System was postponed for several weeks in late June, just a week before bids were due to be submitted, according to court documents.
June 28
Optum has informed the Health Policy Committee that it is no longer working to finalize an agreement with Steward over the sale.
July 15
The auction, held July 15, received bids to purchase all of Steward Health Care’s Massachusetts hospitals.
July 25
The U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee voted Thursday to open a congressional investigation into why Steward filed for bankruptcy protection and to call de la Torre to testify publicly.
yesterday
Steward announced it will close Carney Hospital in Dorchester and Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer around Aug. 31.
The Herald News Agency contributed to this report.