Steward Health Care reaches deal to sell its nationwide physicians network

abcnews.go.com:

Steward Health Care said it has reached an agreement to sell its nationwide physicians network to a private equity firm

BOSTON — Steward Health Care said it has reached an agreement to sell its nationwide physicians network to a private equity firm.

The deal comes as Steward is scheduled to go before a bankruptcy court judge Friday on its plan to sell six hospitals in Massachusetts. The Dallas-based company announced its bankruptcy May 6.

In a statement released Monday, Steward said it has entered into a “definitive agreement” to sell its Stewardship Health business — which includes about 5,000 physicians in Massachusetts and nine other states treating about 400,000 patients — to Rural Healthcare Group, an affiliate of Kinderhook Industries LLC, a private equity firm.

Steward said the deal, which is subject to regulators' review, will result in strong patient and physician outcomes. “Stewardship Health will continue to serve its loyal patient following in the commonwealth of Massachusetts under new ownership,” the company said in a statement Monday.

Mark Rich, president of Steward Health Care, said Kinderhook has «over 20 years of experience investing in mid-sized health care businesses that serve the nation’s most vulnerable populations.»

Steward had previously announced a deal to sell its physicians network. Steward announced in March that it had signed a letter of intent to sell Stewardship to the Optum unit of health insurer UnitedHealth. That deal was never finalized.

Steward and its CEO Ralph de la Torre have come under intense criticism for a series of decisions that critics — including Gov. Maura Healey — say led to the bankruptcy. Healey said she has focused on trying to save the remaining Steward hospitals,