BOSTON — Gov. Maura Healey’s administration will begin holding closed meetings with local health care leaders next week to prepare for uncertainty around patient care as Steward Health Care buckles under financial pressure and could possibly pull out the state.
The Department of Public Health, Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association and the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers will hold the private virtual meetings in each region where Steward Health Care operates facilities, according to a DPH official.
Steward owns two hospitals in the Merrimack Valley, Holy Family in Methuen and Holy Family in Haverhill.
The health system has eight hospitals currently operating in Massachusetts, but as financial woes troubling the for-profit system have come to light and politicians have accused Steward operators of failing to disclose financial information to state regulators, the company is looking to sell its physician network.
The first forum will be held Thursday, April 18 where the department will provide an update about preparations for various transition scenarios, the DPH official said. The initial meetings will focus on access and care for patients, but are not intended to discuss the potential acquisition of any Steward facility or specific financial support for individual health care providers.
In addition to hospitals and community health centers, the department invited Tara Gregorio from the Mass Senior Care Association and Amy Rosenthal from Health Care for All to represent the voices of patients, the DPH official said.
The meeting will focus on medical and surgery services, maternity and emergency services in each region, and how to preserve access to care if a Steward hospital closes. Future forums will discuss behavioral health, workforce planning and academic programs and clinical rotations.
DPH Commissioner Robert Goldstein called the meetings “part of our ongoing response to Steward Health Care and the evolving health care capacity needs across the state. At these meetings, we will provide updates about the work that the state is doing, answer questions and hear concerns from participants, and strategize about how we can work together to meet the needs of patients and providers.”
Steward is the third-largest physician contracting network in Massachusetts, behind Mass General Brigham and Beth Israel Lahey Health, according to the Health Policy Commission.