One of the largest healthcare systems in Arizona is taking over four hospitals owned by Steward Health Care, which filed for bankruptcy earlier this year and has come under fire for the alleged mismanagement of St. Luke's Behavioral Health Center in Phoenix. HonorHealth says that, effective immediately, it has assumed daily operations at the following hospitals across the state: Mountain Vista Medical Center in Mesa; St. Luke's Hospital in Tempe; Steward Mesa Hospital – Emergency Room; Florence Hospital in Florence Multiple outpatient practices are also being taken over by HonorHealth. HonorHealth says the agreement entails leasing the properties through Medical Properties Trust, which is Steward's landlord. After a transitional phase, HonorHealth will assume full operational ownership, which is expected to be completed by October.
Members of a Senate committee looking into the Steward Health Care bankruptcy said they plan to adopt two resolutions next week to hold Steward CEO Ralph de la Torre in contempt — one for civil enforcement and another for certification to the United States Attorney for criminal contempt — after he refused to attend a U.S. Senate hearing Thursday despite being issued a subpoena.
If approved, both resolutions will go to the full Senate for a vote.
The first resolution instructs the Senate legal counsel to bring a civil suit requiring de la Torre to testify before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. The criminal contempt resolution would refer the matter to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia to criminally prosecute de la Torre for failing to comply with the subpoena.
Lawmakers say they would seek to hold Steward Health Care CEO Ralph de la Torre in contempt of Congress if he doesn't appear at a hearing Thursday on Capitol Hill, senators from both parties told CBS News.
A community hospital in Hicksville, Ohio, that this spring temporarily suspended services has closed for good. Community Memorial Hospital officially closed its doors Aug. 31, but leased providers were still seeing some patients using a limited access entrance, based on a Facebook post.
A bankruptcy judge Tuesday approved the sale of three hospitals in Brevard and Indian River counties to Orlando Health. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez issued an order approving the sales of Melbourne Regional Medical Center and Rockledge Regional Medical Center in Brevard County and Sebastian River Medical Center in Indian River County.
More than half of Steward-owned hospitals ranked in the bottom half of acute care hospitals nationwide for patient outcomes. Many of those hospitals also ranked in the bottom quarter for hospitals nationwide and in their state. Those are just a few of the top-line findings of a new report issued by one of the chain's most vocal critics on Capitol Hill, U.S. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass.