Steward Health Care, the hospital system entangled in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, has announced the postponement of a sales hearing for its Florida hospitals from Aug. 22 to Sept. 10.
Attorneys for Steward filed documents to delay that hearing and two more involving hospitals in other states its hopes to shed as part of bankruptcy proceedings.
It’s the latest pushback in the exhaustive process, which began in May, when Steward filed for Chapter 11 in Texas bankruptcy court. This is the fourth sales hearing postponement sought by Steward.
The eight Florida hospitals are scheduled to be part of a second round of sales. The bid deadline for those hospitals is Aug. 26.
Currently, the hospital system has been attempting to sell facilities in other states, including hospitals in Massachusetts and its Stewardship physicians group.
There finally appears to be some progress on that front.
On Monday, Nashville-based Rural Healthcare Group announced its intent to purchase the physicians business and health care network, subject to regulatory approval. Documents filed with the bankruptcy court say the price is $245 million in cash.
RHG, an affiliate of the private-equity firm Kinderhook Industries, defines itself as a primary care provider organization delivering health care to underserved communities. It operates 17 clinics in Tennessee and North Carolina.
In a statement, RHG said it plans to invest in Stewardship business’s infrastructure, which will allow providers to continue seeing patients in existing network clinics.
In June, a sale of Stewardship to OptumCare was called off.
The RHG agreement comes as Steward attorneys filed documents announcing the rescheduling of the sales hearings for the hospitals in Florida and elsewhere.
A sales hearing for its debtors’ hospitals in Massachusetts, Arkansas and Louisiana was moved from Tuesday to Thursday. That hearing would include sale of Stewardship, which employs clinicians in nine states.
Another sales hearing for hospitals in Ohio, Pennsylvania and St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Texas was moved from Tuesday to a date to be determined, according to court documents.
No reason for the delays was given, but the company reportedly has qualified offers for its remaining Massachusetts hospitals.
Recently, Steward received permission from the bankruptcy judge to close two of those hospitals, leading to the layoffs of more than 1,200 employees. Another Massachusetts facility was shuttered in April.
Company attorneys call sales negotiations complex. Among the concerns is the expensive lease payments to de facto landlords that are partially responsible for the health system’s financial distress.
Now, landlord Medical Properties Trust says negative media coverage of the case and strict regulations have scared away possible buyers, according to a Modern Healthcare report.
In Florida, Steward operates Coral Gables Hospital, Hialeah Hospital, North Shore Medical Center and Palmetto General Hospital in Miami-Dade County; Florida Medical Center in Broward; Melbourne Regional Medical Center and Rockledge Regional Medical Center in Brevard; and Sebastian River Medical Center in Indian River.
Dallas-based Steward had been one of the nation’s largest private hospital operators, with 31 locations across eight states.
