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At a virtual hearing in federal bankruptcy court Tuesday, Judge Christopher Lopez in Houston said he was focused on ensuring patient safety as the chain reckons with its crushing debts: ”Real people receiving real care in real time . . . are at the forefront of my mind today.”
The hearing was the start of a months-long process to get the hospitals on a sound financial footing. The court must sort through all of Steward’s financial transactions over the past few years and determine which creditors will be paid back, all while the hospitals continue serving thousands of patients.
During the hearing, Steward also disclosed that it is conducting an internal investigation into “any claims or causes of action of the company against insiders of the company,” according to a presentation from its lawyers. “This investigation is ongoing.”
The investigation is being overseen by a three-person committee that includes independent Steward board members Alan Carr and William Transier plus John Castellano, an investment banker from AlixPartners working on the company’s restructuring.
The group, called the transformation committee, also has “full and exclusive authority” to oversee financing, sales, and restructuring transactions, according to the presentation.
The aggressive timeline for sale of the hospitals was a condition of a $75 million loan Steward needs while it reorganizes its debts. The company owes more than $1 billion to “secured” lenders, who received collateral to protect their loans, and more than $7 billion on long-term leases and loans from its main landlord, Medical Properties Trust, according to the company’s presentation at the hearing. Steward also owes an additional $1 billion in unsecured debts to other service providers and contractors.
The latest loan obligates the company to conduct a rapid sale process, Ray Schrock, Steward’s lawyer, told Judge Lopez during the hearing.
Under the loan terms, Steward would have to take bids on all its hospitals except nine in Florida by June 25, with an auction to be held on June 28. Bids would be due on the nine Florida hospitals by July 26, with an auction on July 30. The company has already begun seeking potential buyers for all of its hospitals, Schrock said.
“I’m not going to say we are happy with the timeline,” Schrock said regarding the June deadline for the first group of sales. “It’s not feasible.” The later Florida deadline was “more realistic,” he said.
Steward had already received letters of interest from potential buyers offering to buy some of the hospitals, Schrock said. But he added that hospital sales typically require approval from state, local, and sometimes federal authorities.
Bankruptcy attorney Adam Ruttenberg, a partner at Beacon Law Group in Boston who is not working on the Steward case, said it was unlikely the hospitals could be sold by the end of the June because of the required regulatory approvals.
“It depends on what you mean by sell,” Ruttenberg said. “Are we talking about having a buyer identified? Seven weeks to get bidders and identify who your best bidders are, that’s not unrealistic. Or are we talking about having a sale approved and closed? That strikes me as wishful thinking.”
Boards often appoint special committees, such as the Steward transformation committee, with the power to authorize transactions and investigate insiders in bankruptcy cases, Ruttenberg said.
“It’s standard in any case where there are hints of wrongdoing,” he said.
While no allegations of wrongdoing have publicly been aired as part of the days-old bankruptcy case, the company has faced dozens of lawsuits, including allegations it has not met contractual obligations to various business partners and has failed to pay its bills.
In addition, Steward has been subjected to increasing criticism from public officials. Governor Maura Healey, for instance, has raised the possibility that Steward may have broken the law in its business dealings. “We don’t have enough to know what they’ve done, whether it’s criminal or illegal, but to me it really smells,” she told the Globe in February.
The sales timeline could be altered, particularly if Steward found a different lender. Steward is also seeking to sell its doctor network, Stewardship Health, but a deal with insurance giant UnitedHealth has been slowed by regulatory concerns. “We’re still working through that,” Schrock said.
In the end, the company may retain some of the hospitals, Schrock said. Healey wants Steward to sell all of its facilities in the state.
“We are going to look at reorganizing around a smaller footprint of hospitals,” Schrock said. The Florida hospitals are the “most profitable portion,” he said.
Andrew Troop, a lawyer at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman who is representing Massachusetts, urged the judge to approve an order allowing doctors and other Steward employees to continue receiving their pay. “This is not a typical case,” Troop said. “Patients are waiting for the outcome of this hearing.”
Lopez said he planned to approve the order because he wanted doctors treating patients to “have nothing in the back of their minds.”
Steward did not assent to everything its lenders requested, Schrock said. Some lenders wanted Steward to issue notices under the US Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act that it could conduct mass layoffs at hospitals within 60 days. But Steward pushed back, Shrock said, because “we don’t think there’s going to be any closures.”
Since Steward’s cash crunch started last year, Medical Property Trust has deferred $166 million in rent and injected $141 million of cash into the hospital operator, Thomas Patterson, a lawyer for the real estate company said.
In Massachusetts, Steward’s hospitals include St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Brighton, Carney Hospital in Dorchester, Good Samaritan in Brockton, Holy Family in Methuen and Haverhill, Morton Hospital in Taunton, Nashoba Valley in Ayer, and Saint Anne’s in Fall River. It also runs Norwood Hospital, which has been closed since 2020 due to flooding.
Aaron Pressman can be reached at aaron.pressman@globe.com. Follow him @ampressman. Robert Weisman can be reached at robert.weisman@globe.com.
BOSTON, MA — An international restaurant group with locations across the globe is preparing to open its first Massachusetts restaurant this year.
LPM Restaurant & Bar, a French Riviera-inspired restaurant founded in London, is set to open on the second floor of the Four Seasons Hotel One Dalton Street in Back Bay, according to Four Seasons. The hotel lists the restaurant as “Opening Summer 2026,” while the Boston Business Journal reported the restaurant plans to open in September.
The Boston restaurant will mark LPM’s debut in the Northeast and its third U.S. outpost, following locations in Miami and Las Vegas, according to a Four Seasons announcement.
LPM, also known as La Petite Maison, was founded in London in 2007 and is known for French-Mediterranean food, Mediterranean ingredients and dining rooms influenced by Belle Époque design.
The business operates locations in London, Dubai, Miami, Abu Dhabi, Hong Kong, Riyadh, Limassol, Doha, Mykonos, Kuwait, Boston, Maldives and Bangkok.
Four Seasons said LPM will take over the space that formerly housed One Dalton’s breakfast concept, One + One. The restaurant will join other dining options at the hotel, including Zuma and Trifecta.
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A Massachusetts high school is under investigation after “several” teachers have been diagnosed with breast cancer or precancerous conditions.
The state Department of Public Health is set to visit Uxbridge High School on Thursday to “conduct a series of air quality tests,” to determine whether the multiple cases are potentially connected.
Superintendent David Ljungberg and Principal Michael Rubin alerted families and district staff on Monday of the “sombering news,” after Uxbridge High School’s graduation over the weekend.
“We are writing to inform you about a concern we are investigating at Uxbridge High School,” Ljungberg and Rubin stated in the letter. “Several female teachers have been diagnosed with breast cancer or precancerous conditions over the past few years.”
“It is, of course, possible that these multiple cases are not connected to one another,” the leaders added, “but out of abundance of caution, we are looking into any environmental factors at the school that may be a factor in their diagnoses.”
The 123,000-square-foot school, with an enrollment of roughly 600, was constructed in 2012 at a cost of $45 million, including a $22-million state reimbursement.
Uxbridge school leaders say they notified the state Department of Health and local health board as soon as they became aware of the cases, seeking “counsel about how best to proceed.”
“Massachusetts DPH officials have indicated that there is no evidence of immediate danger in the building and no reason to limit access to or use of the facility at this time,” they wrote in their letter. “In fact, the public health officials have commended our decision to approach them with these concerns, our readiness to partner with them in support of the evaluation process.”
Health officials are assessing the school’s interior and exterior to “ensure there are no issues with the infrastructure that would present risks (including electrical, plumbing, mechanical, HVAC, and other systems)” and the indoor and outdoor air quality on campus.
The superintendent and principal said that state officials have ruled out water supply as a “risk factor” after “thorough testing.”
“The team has reached out to the women who have been diagnosed, requesting data to evaluate whether there may be a connection among their cases,” Ljungberg and Rubin wrote. “We are grateful for their cooperation.”
They added that the state has said discovering an environmental “smoking gun” is “rare” in workplace investigations.
“However, even if a direct causal link is not established,” the leaders wrote, “the administration is utilizing this process to rigorously test the building and guarantee that it meets all safety standards moving forward.”
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Massachusetts lawmakers are considering a measure that would allow cities and towns to temporarily extend bar and restaurant hours during the summer, as the state prepares to host FIFA World Cup matches and celebrations marking the nation’s 250th anniversary.
The legislation (H.5465) filed by state Rep. Carole Fiola, would allow licensed establishments to sell alcohol one hour later than their normal closing time, up to 3 a.m., between June 1 and Aug. 31, 2026. The bill would also allow communities to establish designated public consumption districts where alcohol could be consumed in approved public spaces.
In a press release announcing the bill, Fiola said the summer’s threefold events lineup — the World Cup, Tall Ships, and July 4th — is an economically significant moment that the state should take advantage of.
“We should capitalize on these events that will generate economic benefits for small businesses and the state as a whole. It’s a local opt-in idea worth exploring that’s being done in other states,” Fiola said.
The proposal has received support from Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and most recently Gov. Maura Healey, who submitted written testimony Monday to the Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies urging lawmakers to advance the measure.
“Massachusetts is planning for a once-in-a-generation summer,” Healey wrote, according to the Boston Globe. “In 2026, we will celebrate the 250th anniversary of our nation’s founding, welcome tall ships from around the world to Boston Harbor for Sail Boston, and host seven FIFA World Cup matches in Foxborough, along with watch parties across the Commonwealth.”
The governor argued that the added flexibility could help local economies benefit from an influx of visitors.
“That flexibility can help communities capture more visitor spending, support jobs, keep downtowns active, and strengthen Massachusetts’ image as a dynamic destination ready to host the world and a place our residents, including our young professionals, are proud to call home,” Healey wrote.
She also urged lawmakers to move the legislation forward, saying it will “help Massachusetts meet the full economic and cultural opportunities for the summer ahead.”
In Rhode Island, a similar bill to allow bars and restaurants to remain open until 4 a.m. during the World Cup was signed into law on Friday.
Fiola’s bill remains before the Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies. Any final version would require approval from both the House and Senate before reaching Healey’s desk.
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