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Healey says Steward Health Care must give 120-day notice before closing Mass. hospitals

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Healey says Steward Health Care must give 120-day notice before closing Mass. hospitals


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A U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge in Houston approved a motion by Steward on Wednesday to toss out the master lease binding the Massachusetts hospitals.

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey takes questions from reporters, Jan. 31, 2024, in Boston. AP Photo/Steven Senne, File

BOSTON (AP) — Gov. Maura Healey said Thursday she is pressing Steward Health Care to adhere to a state Department of Public Health regulation that hospital owners must give 120 days notice before any medical facility can close in Massachusetts.

Healey made the comment a day after a bankruptcy judge allowed Steward’s decision to close two Massachusetts hospitals. Steward announced July 26 its plan to close the hospitals — Carney Hospital and Nashoba Valley Medical Center — on or around Aug. 31 because it had received no qualified bids for either facility.

The Dallas-based company — which announced its bankruptcy May 6 and two days later said it planned to sell off the 30 hospitals it operates nationwide — said it received qualified bids for six other hospitals it operates in Massachusetts.

“I’ve been clear with Steward, they need to stay open for 120 days. We need to have a smooth transition. Steward made the call to close those two hospitals,” Healey told reporters. “We have been hard at work looking to secure a deal that will ensure a smooth transition of ownership away from Steward to a responsible operator.”

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Asked if requiring the hospitals to remain open for the 120 days is possible, Healey said “yes, yes, yes.”

“And the lenders have got to break the leases. We’ve got to break the leases. It’s ridiculous we’re in this situation because of the greed of Steward and (Steward CEO) Ralph de la Torre,” she said.

A spokesperson for Steward did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Healey was referring to lease payments Steward owes after selling their hospitals’ physical properties — including land and buildings — to another company. Both Steward and the state have argued that requiring potential buyers to assume those payments instead of negotiating their own leases — or buying the hospitals properties outright — was making it hard to transfer ownership of the hospitals.

Judge Christopher Lopez of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Houston approved a motion by Steward on Wednesday to toss out the master lease binding the Massachusetts hospitals.

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In a letter to Steward dated Tuesday, U.S. Sens. Edward Markey and Elizabeth Warren and other members of the state’s all-Democratic congressional delegation also pointed to the state regulation requiring that a hospital formally notify the state of its intent to close its services 120 days before the proposed closure date, giving state health officials time to conduct public hearings.

“Steward’s financial crisis does not exempt the company from following the law, nor does it relieve Steward and its corporate enablers from their moral obligation to the public,” the lawmakers wrote.

Massachusetts has also agreed to provide about $30 million to help support the operations of six hospitals that Steward Health Care is trying to turn over to new owners.

The payments are advances on Medicaid funds that the state owes Steward and are being provided contingent upon an orderly movement toward new ownership. The $30 million is also contingent on Steward hitting milestones and cannot be used for rental payments, debt service or management fees.

The company’s hospitals are scattered across eight states.

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A Senate committee voted last week to authorize an investigation into Steward’s bankruptcy and to subpoena de la Torre. The subpoena would compel de la Torre to testify before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee at a hearing on Sept. 12.





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Massachusetts woman accused of killing children appears virtually in Vermont court

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Massachusetts woman accused of killing children appears virtually in Vermont court


A Massachusetts woman accused of killing her two children appeared in court virtually in Vermont on Monday.

Janette MacAusland joined the court hearing from Marble Valley Correctional Facility in Rutland and waived her extradition rights, signing a waiver to be transported back to Massachusetts.

The case began Friday night, when Bennington police were reportedly called for a welfare check on MacAusland. Police say she arrived at a family home distraught and with a neck injury.

PREVIOUS: Massachusetts mother arrested as fugitive in Bennington, charged in murder of two children

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While speaking with police, officers reportedly became increasingly concerned for her children in Wellesley, Massachusetts — a boy and a girl, ages 7 and 6.

Authorities there conducted a welfare check and found the children dead.

MacAusland was arrested and charged with murder.

The Boston Globe reports MacAusland was going through a contentious divorce and seeking custody of both children.

A check-in will be required in two weeks to ensure she is picked up. In the meantime, she remains in jail without bail.

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Massachusetts murder suspect found bleeding and distraught in Bennington, VT

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Massachusetts murder suspect found bleeding and distraught in Bennington, VT


Janette MacAusland is accused of killing her two children in MA.

BENNINGTON, NY (WNYT) – 49-year-old Janette MacAusland was arrested Friday in Bennington, VT; she is accused of killing her two children in Wellesley, MA.

Bennington Police said they got a call around 9:15 Friday night to conduct a welfare check about a woman that had arrived at a family home in Bennington appearing highly distraught. That woman was Janette MacAusland.

It was also reported to police that MacAusland had a visible neck injury and was actively bleeding.

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Benington Police said as officers tried to talk to the woman she became increasingly concerned about the welfare of her children.

Bennington Police then requested that Wellesley Police perform a welfare check on the children at the home in Wellesley, MA.

Around 9:50 p.m. Friday night, Wellesley Police called Benington Police and told them that MacAusland’s two children were found dead inside her home.

Woman accused of killing two children arrested in Bennington

Bennington Police then took MacAusland into custody as a fugitive from justice. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts charged Janette MacAusland with two counts of murder for the death of her children.

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MacAusland is now being held at the Marble Valley Correctional Facility without bail, where she awaits to be transferred to Massachusetts to answer to the murder charges.

MacAusland is scheduled to be arraigned Monday in Rutland Superior Court.



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Coast Guard search underway for a crew member overboard on Boston-bound cruise

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Coast Guard search underway for a crew member overboard on Boston-bound cruise


A search is underway after a report that a crew member of the C/S Norwegian Breakaway was seen falling from the Boston-bound cruise ship, U.S. Coast Guard officials said Sunday.

The Coast Guard Sector Southeastern New England received a report from the C/S Norwegian Breakaway regarding a crew member who had fallen overboard about 12 miles east of Wellfleet. The C/S returned to the last known place of the person and deployed their rescue boat and life rings.

A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter arrived on scene at around 1 a.m. to assist the search along with a crew from the Coast Guard Station Provincetown, officials confirm.

Officials are currently still conducting an aerial search as of SUnday morning along with the Station Provincetown Crew.

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