Southcoast Health expresses interest in taking over Saint Anne's Hospital in Fall River

FALL RIVER — Following news that Steward Health Care is looking to sell its nine Massachusetts hospitals, Southcoast Health's President and CEO David O. McCready says he's interested in taking over Saint Anne's Hospital in Fall River, where, just under two miles away, Southcoast already runs Charlton Memorial Hospital.

In a newsletter addressed to the local community, McCready said he was "alarmed" at the news.

"As you can imagine, this will be a complex transaction involving multiple parties – with the potential to be truly devastating for these hospitals’ patients and employees if there is an interruption of service," McCready wrote in the letter dated March 8. "In the worst case, if Steward and their partners fail to find a buyer, or enough buyers, they may have to close one or more of their hospitals.

"As we engage with Steward, our message to them is clear: The best option for St. Anne’s Hospital, its patients, its employees, and our community, is for St. Anne’s to join the Southcoast Health family."

Get some background: Governor blasts Steward's handling of financial crisis, wants them to hand over hospitals

McCready also pointed out Southcoast Health is "our region’s only not-for-profit health system."

"...we have proven that there is no one else – no one in Boston, in Providence, nationally or elsewhere – who can provide the same level of dedicated and skilled clinical care and service that we provide to this community every day," McCready wrote.

As of this publishing, it is not yet known what the status of talks are between Steward and Southcoast Health.

Steward: 'Numerous' health systems interested

Asked of the status of engagement with Southcoast Health on the interest in St. Anne's Hospital, Steward spokesperson Deborah Chiaravalloti said, "we are not commenting on any specific expressions of interest at this time," offering the following statement:

"Steward Health Care is working with state officials and others to transition ownership of the Massachusetts hospitals in a way that everyone agrees is best for patients, our employees, and the Commonwealth. We are committed to continuity of care in our communities, and we appreciate the strong level of interest we have received from numerous qualified health systems that could facilitate a smooth transition."

Chiaravalloti had also declined to respond to questions about the status of the Saint Anne's Hospital Regional Cancer Center in Dartmouth. Steward Health Care also runs Brockton's Good Samaritan Medical Center, and Morton Hospital in Taunton.

Is Southcoast Health interested in other Steward properties?

Asked if Southcoast Health had yet reached out to engage Steward directly, a Southcoast Health spokesperson Kaitlyn Johnson said: "We have expressed our interest and are engaging in a thoughtful and timely due diligence process."

As to whether or not Southcoast Health may be interested in any of the other Steward-owned sites, Johnson said at the moment, the system's "primary focus is on exploring whether it is possible for St. Anne’s Hospital to join the Southcoast Health family."

A Hawthorn Medical media contact had not responded to The Standard-Times' inquiries on the status of Saint Anne's Regional Cancer Center in Dartmouth in time for this publishing. A website for the facility calls Hawthorn Medical "an affiliate of the Steward Health Care Network."

Warren, Markey express displeasure with Steward CEO

In a press release issued Friday, U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey announced they sent a letter to Steward Health Care CEO and Chairman Dr. Ralph de la Torre, "blasting him for years of financial mismanagement, private equity schemes, and executive profiteering that have led to Steward Health’s financial crisis."

“Steward’s Massachusetts hospitals are in deep financial distress and appear to be in danger of closure because of years of mismanagement, private equity schemes, and executive profiteering. You have run this hospital system for 14 years, and reportedly have had access to two private jets while owning two luxury yachts,” said the lawmakers in the press release.“Meanwhile, suppliers were unpaid, the system piled on debt, and patients in Steward hospitals…suffered because of inadequate care. And now, as a result of years of failures by you and the private equity ownership at Steward, access to health care is at risk for Massachusetts communities, and thousands of health care workers’ jobs could be lost.”

What is the history of Steward Health Care?

According to Warren's and Markey's press release, private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management invested in and created Steward in 2010 after acquiring Caritas Christi Health Care, led at the time by de la Torre. Then in 2016, Steward sold its hospital facilities to real estate investment trust Medical Properties Trust (MPT) for $1.25 billion, "locking the system into massive rent payments that saddled the hospitals with crushing debt," the release reads.

In May 2020, Cerberus transferred its stake in Steward to a group of Steward doctors, which included and was led by de la Torre, according to the release. To finance this transaction, in January 2021 Steward borrowed $335 million from MPT, followed by another loan in 2023 that "quickly went bad," the release reads, "creating unsustainable levels of debt that precipitated the current crisis."

“You have been involved in every major transaction involving the hospital system for nearly two decades,” continued the lawmakers. Steward “is hundreds of millions of dollars in debt, raising questions about unpaid vendors, patient care, and job losses for front-line health care workers, while creating ongoing uncertainty about whether hospitals will close, and if not, how they will be restructured.

“Each step in this process reveals mismanagement, the perils of private equity investment in health care and corporate greed – and raises questions about compliance with state and federal securities laws and other requirements… You owe Congress, state officials, and the public answers for the record of failure and greed that has culminated in the current Steward Health Care crisis."

The lawmakers say they are requesting information from de la Torre on these deals and how they contributed to this crisis no later than March 21, 2024.

This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: Southcoast Health interested in buying Saint Anne's in Fall River