Senate Approves Contempt Resolution Against Steward Health Care CEO

BOSTON — The U.S. Senate has passed a resolution aimed at holding Ralph de la Torre, CEO of Steward Health Care, in criminal contempt. This resolution was approved on Wednesday and stands as a response to de la Torre’s failure to testify before a Senate committee investigating the company’s bankruptcy.

The measure received unanimous consent from the Senate following action by a committee. The committee had moved to adopt the resolution after de la Torre ignored a subpoena to attend a hearing focused on the financial troubles faced by Steward Health Care.

Senator Bernie Sanders, who chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, stated that de la Torre’s refusal to comply with the subpoena left the committee with no option but to pursue contempt charges. The resolution will now be forwarded to the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, who is expected to consider a criminal prosecution against de la Torre.

A representative for de la Torre has yet to provide a response regarding his non-compliance.

Senator Sanders expressed concern over the critical need for answers, particularly about the circumstances that led to the deaths of at least 15 patients in Steward hospitals due to inadequate medical equipment and staffing shortages. He noted that federal regulators identified around 2,000 other patients who were also placed in “immediate peril” as a result of these deficiencies.

Furthermore, Sanders questioned how de la Torre and his company managed to secure over $250 million in compensation during a time when hazardous conditions afflicted thousands of patients and healthcare workers, as well as the communities affected by Steward’s financial mismanagement.

Senator Bill Cassidy, the top Republican on the committee, emphasized that Steward’s mismanagement has severe implications that extend beyond Massachusetts, impacting patient care across more than 30 hospitals in eight different states, including Louisiana.

Prior to the committee hearing, Alexander Merton, de la Torre’s attorney, submitted a letter claiming that the request for his client’s testimony would violate the Fifth Amendment. Merton argued that the government should not coerce de la Torre into providing information that could portray him as a “criminal scapegoat” concerning the systemic failures observed in Massachusetts’ healthcare system, suggesting his willingness to testify at a later date instead.

Steward Health Care, based in Texas and operating approximately 30 hospitals across the nation, filed for bankruptcy in May. The company is in the process of selling six hospitals in Massachusetts, but received insufficient offers for two facilities—Carney Hospital in Boston and Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer—resulting in their closure.

This month, a federal bankruptcy court approved the sale of other Massachusetts hospitals owned by Steward. In addition to these closures, the company has also shut down pediatric wards in Massachusetts and Louisiana, closed neonatal units in Florida and Texas, and terminated maternity services at a hospital in Florida.

Senator Edward Markey from Massachusetts criticized de la Torre and his associates, accusing them of “looting hospitals for profit” over the past decade. He highlighted the ensuing impact, stating that hospital systems have collapsed while healthcare workers struggled to provide necessary care, leading to patient suffering and deaths. Markey indicated that de la Torre and his collaborators neglected their obligations to the communities they were meant to serve.

Nurse Ellen MacInnis, working at St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Boston, testified before the committee regarding the conditions under Steward’s management. She recounted how patients faced avoidable harm, particularly noting understaffing in emergency departments. MacInnis shared a disturbing incident where the company had failed to pay a vendor providing bereavement boxes for deceased infants, which forced nurses to resort to using cardboard shipping boxes for this tragic purpose. To remedy the situation, nurses pooled their money to purchase proper bereavement boxes from Amazon.