St. Joseph Medical Center could soon have a new owner as the saga involving its current owner, Steward Health Care, continues to play out in bankruptcy court and Congress. Healthcare Systems of America, an affiliate of California-based American Healthcare Systems, took over management of Houston's only downtown hospital as part of an interim settlement agreement approved earlier this month in U.S. Bankruptcy Court. The company intends to assume full ownership of St. Joseph once all the necessary agreements are completed, possibly as early as next week. The interim settlement agreement transferred day-to-day management of St. Joseph from Steward, the nation's largest private for-profit hospital chain that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this year.
