Steward Health Care selling hospitals in US following bankruptcy

As Steward Health Care navigates through bankruptcy, it has sold four hospitals in Massachusetts to new owners.

The company that took over three public hospitals in Malta is also negotiating agreements to sell another two hospitals in the US, The Boston Herald reported.

Steward Health Care has been trying to sell the 30 hospitals it operates in the US. Another two hospitals were closed in July.

Steward Health Care was already in deep trouble when disgraced former prime minister Joseph Muscat shook hands with CEO Ralph de la Torre in Castille in 2018.

Muscat had told the nation, “The relationship (between Steward Health Care and Malta) will bring excellent results to Malta’s healthcare”. That did not age well.

De la Torre made over US$100 million by selling Steward Health Care hospitals to a real estate investment trust called Medical Properties Trust (MPT) in a sale-leaseback deal which bound the hospitals to pay MPT extensive rent.

With that money, de la Torre bought a 190-foot yacht worth US$40 million and a US$15 million sport fishing boat.

As Steward Health Care was losing hundreds of millions of dollars a year, de la Torre was paid at least US$250 million dollars. The company filed for bankruptcy in the US earlier this year.

De la Torre, as well as the CEO he placed in Malta, Armin Ernst, are among those listed to face charges in Malta related to the hospitals’ fraudulent deal following a magisterial inquiry.

Steward Health Care owes hundreds of thousands to suppliers in Malta. It has taken millions from Malta taxpayers for services that were not delivered.

Prime Minister Robert Abela defended Steward Health Care’s record in parliament and attacked the magistrate who uncovered the shocking fraud in Labour’s Vitals-Steward deal.

In Malta, Steward did not meet its contractual obligations, yet it was negotiating the payment of more millions with the prime minister.

The second deal with Steward was dropped only at the eleventh hour when the State Advocate told the prime minister that his proposal was illegal.