Senate Panel Approves Action Against Steward Health Care CEO for Defiance

BOSTON — A U.S. Senate committee investigating the bankruptcy of Steward Health Care has taken significant actions to hold CEO Ralph de la Torre accountable for his absence from a recent hearing. On Thursday, the committee adopted two resolutions aimed at holding him in contempt, one for civil enforcement and another for criminal contempt, following his refusal to comply with a subpoena.

The resolutions will be forwarded to the full Senate for further deliberation. This development follows last week’s hearing when de la Torre did not appear despite being legally summoned to testify.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont and the committee’s chair, expressed disappointment in de la Torre’s decision to ignore the subpoena. “For months, this committee has invited Dr. de la Torre to testify about the financial mismanagement and the events at Steward Health Care,” Sanders stated during the hearing. “Time after time he has arrogantly refused to appear.”

In a letter addressed to the committee on Wednesday, Alexander Merton, de la Torre’s attorney, claimed that having his client testify could infringe upon his Fifth Amendment rights. Merton argued that the government’s actions could present de la Torre as a “criminal scapegoat for the systemic failures in Massachusetts’ health care system” and suggested that de la Torre would be willing to testify at a later date.

Merton further expressed concerns that the hearing could turn into an ambush, with witnesses labeling de la Torre and other executives as “health care terrorists” and calling for his imprisonment.

The civil enforcement resolution instructs the Senate’s legal counsel to initiate a lawsuit in the District Court for the District of Columbia to compel de la Torre to testify. In contrast, the criminal contempt resolution seeks to escalate the issue to the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia to pursue prosecution for de la Torre’s noncompliance with the subpoena.

Sen. Sanders emphasized that wealth does not exempt individuals from accountability. “Even though Dr. de la Torre may be worth hundreds of millions of dollars, this does not place him above the law,” he stated, highlighting de la Torre’s ability to afford luxurious lifestyles, including yachts and private jets.

Steward Health Care, which operates around 30 hospitals across the country, filed for bankruptcy in May. The organization is currently attempting to sell several of its hospitals in Massachusetts but has encountered challenges, receiving inadequate offers for Carney Hospital in Boston and Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer, both of which have since closed.

This month, a federal bankruptcy court authorized the sale of other hospitals under Steward’s management, but ongoing challenges persist. The company has also faced scrutiny for shutting down pediatric wards in Massachusetts and Louisiana, as well as closures of neonatal units in Florida and Texas. Additionally, maternity services at a hospital in Florida have been eliminated.

Despite these closures and operational setbacks, reports indicate that de la Torre has personally accrued significant wealth, possessing a yacht valued at $40 million and a luxury fishing boat worth $15 million, as noted by Sen. Sanders.

Testimonies presented before the committee have raised serious concerns about patient care under Steward’s management. Ellen MacInnis, a nurse at St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Boston, testified about the preventable harm faced by patients, particularly in emergency departments suffering from understaffing. She detailed a disturbing incident where the hospital failed to pay for bereavement boxes meant for the remains of deceased newborns, forcing nurses to resort to using cardboard shipping boxes. “These nurses pooled their money together to purchase bereavement boxes from Amazon,” she revealed.

The ongoing investigation and the senior executive’s refusal to testify reflect the complexities and challenges faced by Steward Health Care as it navigates bankruptcy and the scrutiny of its management practices.