by PHOENIX (AZFamilie/AP) — One of Arizona’s largest health systems is acquiring four hospitals owned by Steward Health Care, which filed for bankruptcy earlier this year and has come under fire for alleged mismanagement of St. Luke’s Behavioral Health Center in Phoenix.
HonorHealth announced Wednesday that it has immediately assumed day-to-day operations at the following hospitals in the state:
- Mountain Vista Medical Center in Mesa
- St. Luke’s Hospital in Tempe
- Steward Mesa Hospital – Emergency Department
- Hospital of Florence in Florence
According to the press release, several outpatient clinics will also be taken over by HonorHealth.
“As a trusted healthcare provider and community partner, HonorHealth has a strong track record of patient safety and experience, clinical excellence, and engagement of top employees and physicians,” said HonorHealth CEO Todd LaPorte. “HonorHealth continues to invest in responsible healthcare development where there is a demonstrated need, and we believe that taking on the operation of these existing facilities is an effective way to optimize our resources.”
HonorHealth says the agreement will see the properties leased through Medical Properties Trust, Steward’s landlord. Following a transition period, HonorHealth will assume full operational ownership, which is expected to close in October.
Acquired facilities, but St. Luke’s Behavioral Health Care is not one of them
Arizona’s Family reported in mid-August that the government forced St. Luke’s Behavioral Health Care to suspend operations and all patient care.
The Arizona Department of Health Service later announced that it planned to revoke the license due to several violations that posed an immediate danger.
“It was clear that they had a more national strategy for what to do with behavioral health facilities across the Steward’s national footprint. And so we adhered to that. I can’t really say anything more than that, other than we were not asked, if you will, to, you know, consider the management of that particular facility,” LaPorte told Arizona’s Family about why the troubled health care facility wasn’t included in the agreement.
A Steward spokesperson told Arizona’s Family on Wednesday afternoon that there was no comment on the current status of St. Luke’s.
The hospital’s closure came days after the behavioral health center had to relocate nearly 100 patients who were left without air conditioning for days.
A whistleblower came forward and reported that the hospital was aware of repeated problems with the building’s HVAC system and had no plan in place in case something went wrong.
“The administration gave no instructions on what to do, and it was just chaos,” said the anonymous nurse, who claimed that some patients had a temperature of almost 38 degrees Celsius for more than 24 hours.
In May, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes announced that her office was investigating the bankruptcy of Steward Health Care. Mayes’ office told Arizona’s Family earlier this week that it was still “closely monitoring the situation to ensure the best interests of Arizonans.”
What now?
More than 30 Steward hospitals across the country are being auctioned off in court or forced to close.
According to the Associated Press, Ralph de la Torre, CEO of Steward Health Care, is likely to deny a subpoena to appear before a U.S. Senate committee investigating the hospital company’s bankruptcy.
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont said Wednesday he is prepared to hold de la Torre in contempt of court if he fails to appear at a hearing on Thursday despite being served with a subpoena.
Sanders said de la Torre should answer to the American people for how he was able to rak in hundreds of millions of dollars while Steward Health Care, which ran about 30 hospitals across the country, was forced to file for bankruptcy in May.
“This is something that is not going to go away,” Sanders told The Associated Press. “We are going to pursue this relentlessly.”
His lawyers said “De la Torre must remain silent to respect the hospital’s ongoing reorganization and settlement.”
The Dallas-based health care provider is trying to sell its hospitals in several states, including Massachusetts. It received too few bids for two of those hospitals: Carney Hospital in Boston and Nashoba Valley Medical Center in the town of Ayer. Both hospitals closed over the weekend.
Last month it was reported that there were no public bids for Arizona hospitals.
A federal bankruptcy court recently approved the sale of other Steward hospitals in Massachusetts.
Lawyers for de la Torre said the U.S. Senate committee wants to turn the hearing into “a pseudo-criminal proceeding where they use the time not to gather facts, but to convict Dr. de la Torre in the eyes of the public.”
“It is not within the authority of this committee to prejudge alleged criminal misconduct based on an investigation into Steward’s bankruptcy proceedings, and the fact that its members have done so smacks of a veiled attempt to circumvent Dr. de la Torre’s constitutional rights,” the letter said.
De la Torre did not rule out testifying before the committee later.
Sanders said in a statement that he will work with other members of the panel to determine the best way to ask De la Torre for answers.
“Let me be clear: We will not accept this delay. Congress will hold Dr. de la Torre accountable for his greed and for the harm he has caused to hospitals and patients across America,” Sanders said. “This committee intends to move aggressively to force Dr. de la Torre to testify about the gross mismanagement of Steward Health Care.”
U.S. Senators Edward Markey and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, both Democrats, called de la Torre’s refusal to appear before the committee on Thursday outrageous.
The committee’s options include holding la Torre in criminal contempt of court, which could result in a trial and jail time; or civil contempt, which would result in fines until he appears. Both would require a Senate vote.
Markey and Warren said de la Torre is accountable to the public and Congress and that he would be in contempt of court if he fails to appear before the committee.
“He grew rich as private equity and real estate vultures broke up and bankrupted hospitals that employed thousands of health care workers serving communities in Massachusetts and across the country,” the two said in a joint statement.
“De la Torre used hospitals as his personal piggy bank and lived in luxury while hollowing out the Steward hospitals,” they added.
De la Torre also declined invitations to testify at a hearing in Boston chaired by Markey earlier this year.
Sanders said de la Torre became ridiculously wealthy by loading hospitals from Massachusetts to Arizona with billions of dollars in debt and selling the land beneath the hospitals to real estate managers who charged unsustainable rents.
The Associated Press and Arizona’s Family reporter Micaela Marshall contributed to this report.
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