Company that operates five South Florida hospitals went bankrupt
DORAL, FL – Steward Health Care, a company Dallas-based that operates five South Florida hospitals and eight state ones, filed for bankruptcy protection Monday.
Steward acquired Coral Gables Hospital, Hialeah Hospital, North Shore Medical Center and Palmetto General Hospital in Miami-Dade County, and Florida Medical Center in Broward County in 2021 from Tenet Healthcare Corp.
They also operate other state hospitals such as Melbourne Regional Medical Center and Rockledge Regional Medical Center in Brevard County, and Sebastian River Medical Center in Indian River County in addition to other ones in Arizona, Arkansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas.
After stating in a news release that they filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, the corporation also explained this decision doesn’t imply the operations will be interrupted as hospitals, doctor’s offices and other facilities will remain open.
Regarding this, Hialeah Mayor Esteban Bovo confirmed operations at Hialeah and Palmetto hospitals will not be affected.
“I would like to stress that, even though both of these facilities are privately owned and operated, my office will continue to monitor the situation closely to keep our residents informed, and work with our community partners to secure the future of all healthcare options for our residents,” he said in a statement in part.
“Steward Health Care has done everything in its power to operate successfully in a highly challenging health care environment. Filing for Chapter 11 restructuring is in the best interests of our patients, physicians, employees and communities at this time,” Ralph de la Torre, chief executive officer of Steward, said in a prepared statement, as reported by 6 South Florida.
According to Monday’s release, Steward was finalizing an initial $75 million “in what is known as debtor-in-possession financing from Medical Properties Trust, Inc”, which is a is a type of funding for companies in Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Also, the report indicates the decision to file for bankruptcy is a “necessary measure to allow the company to continue to provide necessary care to its patients in their communities without disruption.”
“In the past several months we have secured bridge financing and progressed the sale of our Stewardship Health business in order to help stabilize operations at all of our hospitals,” the statement said. “With the delay in closing of the Stewardship Health transaction, Steward was forced to seek alternative methods of bridging its operations. With the additional financing in this process, we are confident that we will keep hospitals open, supplied, and operating so that our care of our patients and our employees is maintained,” the statement read.
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