State activates emergency incident command system amid Steward hospitals’ financial troubles

A Boston doctor will lead the state’s emergency operations plan to ensure clinical quality and healthcare access in eastern Massachusetts amid Steward hospitals’ financial challenges, officials said Friday.

Steward facilities in Massachusetts are currently open and providing care, state officials said. The state Department of Public Health will lead efforts with a regionally-focused incident command system.

“This week, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health activated its Emergency Operation Plan as part of our ongoing commitment to ensure patient safety, protect access to care and preserve jobs. This next step is part of our continued response to Steward Health Care’s financial challenges,” Health and Human Services Secretary Kate Walsh said in a statement.

Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Robert Goldstein said the agency has “formalized an Incident Command System to coordinate the regional planning work already underway.”

“The Incident Command System incorporates the ongoing external monitoring in all Steward hospitals, enables DPH to rapidly respond to any clinical needs or issues that arise, and fosters increased communication with other regional health care organizations, first responders and community leaders,” Goldstein said.

Goldstein told Boston 25 that the state’s expectation is that Steward will file for a form of bankruptcy that would allow hospitals and other centers to continue running.

“What we’re learning from our bankruptcy lawyers is that what’s most likely is that they would file under Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which means the hospitals would continue to operate,” Goldstein said. “A bankruptcy filing is not the same as the closure of these hospitals. It’s a way for Steward to reorganize and manage their facilities as they move to the next step.”

Boston 25 has reached out to Steward for comment.

The Department of Public Health’s Incident Command will be led by Dr. Gregg Meyer, who has spent decades as an executive at Mass General Brigham, MGH/MGPO, and Dartmouth Health, officials said.

A practicing primary care physician, Dr. Meyer has worked in the federal government under two administrations. He has extensive experience in hospital operations and crisis management and is nationally recognized for his leadership in hospital quality and safety and population health, state officials said.

According to the state, the Incident Command System is a “public health tool used to organize efforts among state agencies, hospitals, community health centers, community service organizations, labor organizations, and other stakeholders to ensure that Steward hospitals are maintaining safe, quality care and services.”

The system will also oversee any transitions in care that may occur at Steward hospitals and manage the downstream regional effects on access to clinical care, officials said.

Since January, the Department of Public Health has had monitors in Steward hospitals to assess whether the facilities have the necessary supplies, equipment, and staffing to deliver safe and effective care. Those monitors remain in place, state officials said.

Last month, Steward Health Care permanently closed New England Sinai Hospital in Stoughton .

In late January, Steward said the hospital’s financial performance had decreased by 1,600 percent over the last five years. The healthcare company blamed “skyrocketing expenses” related to labor, material costs due to inflation, and lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on its decision to close the hospital. Steward also said that it owed about $50 million in unpaid rent .

Steward operates St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Brighton, Carney Hospital in Dorchester, Good Samaritan Medical Center in Brockton, Holy Family Hospital in Haverhill, Holy Family Hospital in Methuen, Morton Hospital in Taunton, Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer, and Saint Anne’s Hospital in Fall River.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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