Steward seeks RI law change, plans layoffs for Landmark

Steward Health Care System has completed the purchase application for Woonsocket's fiscally troubled Landmark Medical Center and has submitted plans that include layoffs, a name change and $30 million in investment and upgrades for the facility. The for-profit health care chain, however, must first pass the strict guidelines in the Hospital Conversions Act. And nearly nine months after submitting the winning bid for Landmark, Steward, which oversees 10 hospitals in neighboring Massachusetts, is seeking to alter HCA to eliminate the waiting period for buying more hospitals in Rhode Island.