In the wake of two hospital closures in Massachusetts—facilities previously run by the now-bankrupt Steward Health Care—communities are facing strains on their emergency medical services, less access to care, and broken trust. And, for many patients, there could be serious health consequences, according to Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health's Jose Figueroa.
Westchester Medical Center Health Network in New York will receive up to $100 million from the state to support its merger with Bon Secours Charity Health System and HealthAlliance of the Hudson Valley. Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the investment on Friday as part of New York’s $2.6 billion Health Care Safety Net Transformation Program that aims to improve the quality of care at safety net hospitals and stabilize operations for long-term sustainability.
For decades, St. Mary's Sacred Heart Hospital in Lavonia has been a cornerstone for expecting mothers in northeast Georgia. But tonight, the hospital's labor and delivery unit has officially shut down, leaving families scrambling and nurses without work. Hospital officials say Medicaid cuts were the final straw after months of funding and staffing struggles. The closure now forces pregnant women in Franklin County and surrounding areas to travel 45 minutes to an hour and a half to Athens or Greenville for maternity care — a potentially dangerous distance in the event of a complicated or high-risk pregnancy.
CVS Health said it plans to close 16 of its Oak Street Health clinics amid rising cost pressures. Woonsocket, R.I.-based CVS acquired the Oak Street clinic network, which focuses on providing health care services to older adults at low costs, in 2023, and has since expanded it from 169 to 246 locations. CVS said at the time of the acquisition that it hoped to expand the Oak Street network to 300 locations by 2026. However, the pace of openings has slowed in recent months, according to a report in Forbes. The report said the company was focusing more on driving growth through existing locations, in part through technology investments, rather than through openings of new clinics.
An electrical contractor has filed a mechanic’s lien claiming that they are owed over $800,000 for work on a Barnes-Jewish Hospital construction project. According to court documents, BRK Electrical Contractors filed the lien Oct. 4 in St. Louis City Circuit Court. The company says it did work as a subcontractor for Sachs Electric Company, which was working under McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. (the general contractor for Barnes Jewish Hospital. The lien covers work on the Washington University Medical Campus Renewal Project. In the claim, BRK said it provided 'work, labor, materials and equipment' from Nov. 2021 through April 2025 under a continuous contract. The company says that they completed more than $1.55 million in work but only actually received about $1.37 million of that, leaving $819,629 unpaid, plus interest and attorney fees.
HCA Healthcare raised its yearly profit and revenue forecasts on Friday as it expects sustained demand for medical procedures to cushion a hit from the Trump administration's tariffs, sending its shares rising 5% in premarket trading. Hospital operators are expected to benefit from higher utilization this year as patients covered by Obamacare individual insurance plans make use of their benefits ahead of expected changes in 2026.