Massachusetts governor says Steward Health Care must give 120-day notice before closing hospitals

abcnews.go.com:

Gov. Maura Healey says 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

BOSTON — 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 <a class=«zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE » data-testid=«prism-linkbase» href=«https://abcnews.go.com/Steward%E2%80%99s» financial crisis does not exempt the company from following law nor it relieve steward and its corporate enablers their moral obligation to public.>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."

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

“And