Steward Health Care announces closure of 2 Massachusetts hospitals

BOSTON (AP) — Steward Health Care announced Friday that is it closing two hospitals in Massachusetts because it received no qualified bids for the facilities after declaring bankruptcy earlier this year.

Steward’s bankruptcy is being investigated by the U.S. Senate, with Democrats accusing the Dallas-based company of allowing private equity executives to strip the firm of its assets, despite the harm it causes to local communities.

In a statement announcing the closures, Steward said it has been working to sell or transition all its Massachusetts hospitals and is in active final negotiations to sell six of them.

“Despite the extensive sale process, which involved close coordination with lenders and regulators, there were no qualified bids for two hospitals, Carney Hospital and Nashoba Valley Medical Center, and, unfortunately, they will be closing on or around August 31,” the company said.

Carney Hospital is located in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston and Nashoba Valley Medical Center is in Ayer, a town about 45 miles (72 kilometers) west of Boston.

In May, Steward said it planned to sell off all its hospitals after announcing that it had filed for bankruptcy protection. The company operates about 30 hospitals across eight states.

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