The process of building Steward Health Care into the country's largest for-profit hospital chain took chief executive Ralph de la Torre almost a decade. Now, with the chain in bankruptcy and some hospitals already closed, the process of holding de la Torre accountable is just getting started. On Thursday morning, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee is scheduled to vote on civil and criminal referrals for contempt of Congress over de la Torre's refusal to testify at a hearing last week despite being subpoenaed. If the full Senate goes along and the US attorney presses charges, de la Torre could find himself in prison. The votes come a day after a lawyer for de la Torre blasted congressional efforts to investigate the executive's role in the crisis, arguing that de la Torre's refusal to testify is protected by the Fifth Amendment and was not permitted because of the company's ongoing bankruptcy reorganization.
In a social media landscape shaped by hashtags, algorithms, and viral posts, nurse leaders must decide: Will they let the narrative spiral, or can they adapt and join the conversation?
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