In hot water with Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley, Boston-based Steward Health Care System has decided to push back closing Quincy (Mass.) Medical Center until February of next year, according to a Boston Herald report.
Steward originally planned to close the hospital Dec. 31, but doing so would have violated an agreement the system previously entered into with Ms. Coakley. The agreement requires Steward to provide 90 days notice prior to closing Quincy and by informing state officials on Nov. 6 that it would close the hospital Dec. 31 Steward was in violation of the agreement, according to the report.
Although Steward officials believe there will be little or no demand for Quincy's services by the end of December, as patient volumes have significantly declined since the closure was announced, it will keep the hospital open until February while it winds down operations, according to the report.
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