Dallas-based Steward Health Care filed a notice of closure for its already nonoperational Norwood (Mass.) Hospital and four satellite facilities.
The notice comes after Steward sought Chapter 11 protection May 6 and has been working to sell its remaining hospitals.
Here are seven things to know:
1. The four Steward-affiliated facilities — a facility specializing in performance therapy, an infusion clinic, a pharmacy and a facility offering radiology services — will close Nov. 5, a Steward spokesperson said in an Oct. 8 statement shared with Becker's.
2. The notice is a result of Steward not renewing its license for Norwood Hospital. The hospital has been nonoperational since June 2020, when "catastrophic flooding" shut it down. "Given ongoing bankruptcy proceedings and Steward's difficult financial position, reopening the facility is not feasible," the statement said.
3. Steward is working with its Norwood-affiliated services patients to ensure care is continued and treatment is transitioned to another hospital.
4. In February, Steward paused reconstruction efforts on the hospital due to contractors' claims that they had not been paid.
5. "With this notice of closure, we can now focus on moving forward and meeting the health care needs of the Norwood community without Steward, their lenders or the owners of the real estate dictating the path," Kate Walsh, Massachusetts secretary of health and human services, said in an Oct. 8 statement shared with Becker's. "We are hopeful that a new, responsible operator will step up, and we're prepared to work with any interested parties. Steward must also present us with a closure plan as soon as possible that outlines how they will ensure continued access to care in the community and support the workforce."
6. U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Christopher Lopez approved the sale of six other Steward hospitals in Massachusetts on Sept. 4 to three different health systems.
On Oct. 1, Providence, R.I.-based Lifespan acquired Taunton, Mass.-based Morton Hospital and Fall River, Mass.-based St. Anne's Hospital for $175 million; Lawrence (Mass.) General Hospital took over Holy Family Hospital in Methuen (Mass.) and Holy Family Hospital in Haverhill (Mass.) for $28 million; and Boston Medical Center took on Brockton-based Good Samaritan Hospital and St. Elizabeth's Medical Center for $140 million. Massachusetts seized St. Elizabeth's Medical Center Sept. 27 through eminent domain to keep it open and transfer operations to BMC.
7. Steward closed two other Massachusetts hospitals, Boston-based Carney Hospital and Ayer-based Nashoba Valley Medical Center, on Aug. 31.
*Editor's note: Steward received bankruptcy court approval Nov. 5 to close the affiliated facilities.