Steward Health Care's power play

Chris Hopey, the president of Merrimack College, brought an intriguing proposal late last year to his board of trustees: Steward Health Care, the upstart, for-profit hospital chain that is challenging some of the biggest players in the Massachusetts health care industry, wanted to transfer Carney Hospital in Dorchester to the North Andover school. The discussions with Merrimack are a sign that Steward’s bold plan to turn a string of money-losing hospitals into a profitable healthcare juggernaut may be facing some glitches. Owned by Cerberus Capital Management, a secretive New York private equity firm, Steward has been shaking things up in one of the state’s biggest and most important industries.