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BOSTON (AP) — Steward Health Care CEO Ralph de la Torre filed a lawsuit Monday against a U.S. Senate committee that accused him of contempt for failing to seem before the panel despite a subpoena.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington, named nearly all members of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, including Senator Bernie Sanders, who chairs the committee that investigated Steward's bankruptcy.

The lawsuit alleges that lawmakers are unlawfully violating de la Torre's constitutional rights.

It alleges that by attempting to force de la Torre to reply questions on Steward's bankruptcy, committee members are “collectively making a concerted effort to question Dr. . . to act as a witness against yourself.'”

De la Torre is asking the court to declare all actions related to enforcing the subpoena invalid and unconstitutional — including the committee's Sept. 19 vote approving the criminal contempt resolution and its decision to refer the resolution to the complete Senate a vote.

The Senate approved the resolution last week.

“In these circumstances, no one can be compelled to give evidence if they exercise this right. “The Constitution also does not allow Congress to punish and intimidate him or any other American for exercising these rights,” William “Bill” Burck, a lawyer for de la Torre, said in a written statement.

The lawsuit comes a day before de la Torre is ready to step down as CEO of Steward.

De la Torre oversaw Steward's network of about 30 hospitals across the country. The Texas-based company's troubled recent history has drawn the eye of elected officials in New England, where a few of its hospitals are positioned.

A spokesman for de la Torre said Saturday that he has “parted ways with Steward amicably and on amicable terms” and “will continue to be a tireless advocate for improving reimbursement rates for the disadvantaged patient population.”

Sanders said earlier this month that Congress was “Dr. “We will hold de la Torre accountable for his greed and the harm he has caused to hospitals and patients across America.”

Steward has closed pediatric wards in Massachusetts and Louisiana, closed neonatal units in Florida and Texas and eliminated maternity services at a hospital in Florida.

Democratic Sen. Edward Markey of Massachusetts said that Steward, under the leadership of de la Torre and his supporters, “looted hospitals across the country for profit and became rich through their greedy schemes” over the past decade.

Alexander Merton, an attorney for de la Torre, said the blame as an alternative lay with “the systemic failures of Massachusetts' health care system” and that the committee sought to portray de la Torre as a criminal scapegoat. Merton also said de la Torre would conform to testify at a later date.

On Friday, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey announced that her administration had officially seized a hospital through eminent domain to maintain it open and hand it over to a brand new owner. St. Elizabeth Medical Center in Boston was a part of a gaggle led by Steward. Operations can be transferred to Boston Medical Center.

Two other Massachusetts hospitals operated by Steward were forced to shut after failing to seek out qualified buyers through the bankruptcy process.

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BOSTON (AP) — Members of a U.S. Senate committee investigating Steward Health Care's bankruptcy passed two resolutions Thursday to carry CEO Ralph de la Torre in contempt of court – one for civil contempt and one other for criminal contempt – for failing to testify before the committee.

The votes come after de la Torre refused to attend a committee hearing last week despite a subpoena. Both resolutions might be sent to the complete Senate for consideration.

Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont and chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said de la Torre's decision to disregard the subpoena left the committee no selection but to bring contempt of court charges.

“For months, this committee has called on Dr. de la Torre to testify about the financial mismanagement and events at Steward Health Care,” Sanders said at Thursday's hearing. “He has arrogantly refused to appear time and time again.”

Alexander Merton, an attorney for de la Torres, said in a letter to the committee on Wednesday that the committee's request to permit him to testify in court was a violation of his rights under the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

The Constitution protects de la Torre from being coerced by the federal government into giving a sworn statement to portray him “as a criminal scapegoat for the systematic failures of the Massachusetts health care system,” Merton wrote, adding that de la Torre would comply with testify at a later date.

“Our fear that the hearing could be used to ambush Dr. de la Torre in a pseudo-criminal trial was made clear last week when the Committee called witnesses who described Dr. de la Torre and Steward executives as 'healthcare terrorists' and advocated for Dr. de la Torre's detention,” Merton added.

The resolution for civil enforcement of the subpoena directs Senate Counsel to file suit within the District Court for the District of Columbia to compel de la Torre's testimony before the committee.

As a part of the resolution of the criminal contempt issue, the matter could be referred to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, who would prosecute de la Torre for failure to comply with the subpoena.

“Even though Dr. de la Torre may be worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Even though he may own fancy yachts and private jets and luxurious properties around the world. Even though he can afford some of the most expensive lawyers in America, Dr. de la Torre is not above the law,” Sanders said.

Texas-based Steward, which operates about 30 hospitals nationwide, filed for bankruptcy in May.

Steward has tried to sell half a dozen hospitals in Massachusetts, but the corporate received inadequate offers for 2 other hospitals, Carney Hospital in Boston and Nashoba Valley Medical Center within the town of Ayer, and each hospitals were forced to shut.

A federal bankruptcy court this month approved Steward's sale of other Massachusetts hospitals.

Steward also closed pediatric wards in Massachusetts and Louisiana, closed neonatal wards in Florida and Texas, and eliminated the maternity ward of a Florida hospital.

At the identical time, de la Torre personally earned a whole lot of hundreds of thousands of dollars and purchased a $40 million yacht and a $15 million luxury fishing boat, Sanders said.

Ellen MacInnis, a nurse at St. Elizabeth's Medical Center in Boston, testified before the committee last week that patients were exposed to preventable harm and even death under the direction of stewards, especially in understaffed emergency rooms.

She also said there was a case where Steward didn’t pay a supplier who supplied funeral boxes for the stays of deceased newborns that needed to be taken to the mortuary.

“Nurses were forced to pack the babies' remains into shipping boxes,” she said. “These nurses pooled their own money, went to Amazon and bought the funeral boxes.”

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Governor of Massachusetts, Maura Healey announced On Friday, the state announced tentative agreements to maintain 4 Steward Health Care hospitals open on five campuses.

Agreements in principle have been reached to sell Saint Anne's Hospital in Fall River, Good Samaritan Medical Center in Brockton, Morton Hospital in Taunton and the Holy Family Hospital locations in Methuen and Haverhill to recent operators.

In the meantime, the state will take control of St. Elizabeth's Medical Center in Brighton through expropriation and facilitate the transition to a brand new owner.

Lawrence General Hospital will develop into the brand new operator of the 2 Holy Family campuses. Lifespan Health Systems will take over Saint Anne's and Morton. Boston Medical Center will take over Good Samaritan and eventually St. Elizabeth's.

Earlier this yr, Dallas-based Steward Healthcare filed for bankruptcy and announced it might need to sell or close its hospitals across the country, including eight in Massachusetts. Steward Chairman Ralph de la Torre Much of the blame has been placed on Steward, with many pointing to the 2016 decision to sell buildings and land to an actual estate investment trust, which then leased them back to Steward for hundreds of thousands in rent.

“None of us wanted to be here from the beginning. This is not something Massachusetts created,” Healey said during a press conference Friday afternoon. “It was something that was created by the greed and exploitation of one individual, Ralph de la Torre, and members of his team. De le Torre's actions brought us here in Massachusetts to the brink of collapse.”

From the start, Healey said, her mission was to save lots of as many Steward hospitals as possible. The government is providing $30 million in bridge funding to maintain the hospitals open until the tip of the month.

Two of the Steward hospitals in Massachusetts didn’t receive qualified offers: Carney Hospital in Dorchester and Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer. Both are scheduled to shut by the tip of August.

Despite ongoing protests from advocates, staff and patients, Healey has said her hands are tied and Carney and Nashoba Valley will close. She was strongly criticized at meetings this week.

“The news today is good, but not for everyone,” Healey said, speaking of Carney and Nashoba Valley. “Unlike the other hospitals, there was no hospital operator willing to make a bid to keep these facilities running. That's why these hospitals are facing closure – because of Steward, because of what Steward did to bankrupt them. So it's an incredibly disturbing reality.”

Healey said her government is working diligently to assist staff in Carney and Nashoba Valley by demanding that Steward pay the agreed severance payments and Mass Hire Send teams to hospitals to host job fairs and supply other services. A complete of 753 staff in Carney and 490 in Nashoba Valley are susceptible to layoffs.

Tim Foley, deputy executive director of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, praised the administration's actions in an announcement after the agreements were announced.

“This is exactly the kind of aggressive action that the health workers at 1199SEIU have been demanding from our state leaders. Steward's hospitals are critical to Massachusetts' health care system, and this bold step will keep them open to care for our patients, despite the outrageous financial risk-taking of Apollo Global Management, Medical Properties Trust and Steward Health Care,” he said.

The deals announced on Friday were removed from certain just 24 hours earlier. On Thursday, Healey asked lenders and personal equity giant Apollo Global Management to facilitate a deal. State House Intelligence Service reported.

Two landlords, Medical Properties Trust and Macquarie Infrastructure Partners, transferred the hospitals' properties to Apollo earlier this summer. Healey accused all three of putting their very own interests above the health and well-being of Massachusetts residents.

The state plans to supply $4.5 million to amass St. Elizabeth from Apollo, which Healey said represents fair market value. That move will likely require legislative approval, and Healey said state officials are working closely with lawmakers to “develop a fiscally responsible financing plan that includes cash advances, capital support and maximizing federal grants.”

Speaking to reporters on Friday, Healey described the deals as the start of a brand new era.

“From where we started many, many months ago, when Steward pulled the rug out from under all of us in Massachusetts, I wasn't sure we would make it this far,” she said. “Today, I'm happy to say that we're writing off Steward in Massachusetts once and for all. Goodbye and goodbye.”

Local news

Governor Maura Healey supported the concept of ​​a federal investigation into the chairman of Steward Health Care Ralph de la Torre this week as he works to maintain a number of the company's Massachusetts hospitals afloat.

Healey's comments got here in response to reports that the embattled de la Torre had recently been in France. Watch Olympic horse racing at Versailles.

“I am disgusted with Ralph de la Torre. He essentially stole millions from Steward on the backs of employees and patients, buying himself fancy yachts, mansions and now apparently luxurious trips to Versailles. I hope he gets what he deserves and that federal investigators will pursue him for his actions. Our government is working day and night to protect jobs and patients and to pick up the pieces of the situation Ralph de la Torre put us in,” Healey said in a press release.

Tensions remain high around Steward, which plans to shut two Massachusetts hospitals by the tip of the month. Employees and others have rallied support for Carney Hospital in Dorchester and Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer, but their futures remain uncertain.

After Steward filed for bankruptcy earlier this 12 months, the Dallas-based company announced it might sell 30 hospitals nationwide. Healey said Wednesday she was “cautiously optimistic” concerning the potential transfer of 5 Steward-operated hospitals within the state, but stressed that the ability is “in the hands of the lenders,” she said. Steward operates seven hospitals on eight campuses in Massachusetts.

Healy told SHNS that there have been no qualified offers for Carney and Nashoba Valley and that she was “focused on saving five community hospitals.” The governor urged Steward last week to comply with a state rule that requires hospital owners to provide 120 days' notice before closing a medical facility. The company didn’t announce the approaching closures of Carney and Nashoba Valley until July 26. But Healey has also reportedly recognized that there may be little it could actually do to maintain Carney and Nashoba Valley afloat.

The Boston City Council passed a resolution Wednesday calling on city officials to declare a public health emergency over Carney's closure. The resolution received overwhelming support, and plenty of councilors spoke at a gathering concerning the hospital's importance not only to Dorchester, but in addition what the closure could mean for the remainder of the region. That resolution shouldn’t be binding, and Mayor Michelle Wu's office said afterward that such a declaration wouldn’t be an efficient solution.

The Ayer City Council also adopted an analogous resolution and called on Healey this week to declare a public health emergency over the Nashoba Valley closure.

More than 1,200 employees could lose their jobs if Carney and Nashoba Valley are closed.

Upon request from A spokesman for de la Torre said he was “unfortunately” on family leave and was “not authorized” to make decisions about closing or selling hospitals as a part of the bankruptcy proceedings.

“Despite the press reports, Dr. de la Torre has focused on managing the situation and, as far as the insolvency proceedings allow, keeping the hospitals open and providing comprehensive care to patients,” the spokesman told .

Business

BOSTON (AP) — Hospital operator Steward Health Care filed for bankruptcy protection early Monday morning, but pledged to take care of the eight hospitals it operates in Massachusetts.

In a news release, company officials said Steward viewed the move as a vital measure so the corporate could proceed to supply vital care to its patients.

“Steward does not anticipate any disruption to its day-to-day operations, which will continue to operate as usual throughout the Chapter 11 process,” the corporate said in a written statement. “Steward’s hospitals, medical centers and physician offices are open and continuing to serve patients and the broader community, and our commitment to our employees will not change.”

The Dallas-based company operates greater than 30 hospitals nationwide. Stewards eight hospitals in Massachusetts, including St. Elizabeth's Hospital and Carney Hospital, each in Boston. It filed for defense within the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas.

Steward's troubles in Massachusetts have drawn the ire of senior political figures, including U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Edward Markey, who said the corporate's previous private equity owners “sold (Steward) for parts” and ” “got away with hundreds of millions of dollars.” ”

Steward said it was finalizing the terms of its landlord Medical Properties Trust's “debtor-in-owner financing” for an initial financing of $75 million and “up to an additional $225 million upon satisfaction of certain conditions.”

“Steward Health Care has done everything in its power to operate successfully in an extremely challenging healthcare environment. Filing for Chapter 11 restructuring is currently in the best interest of our patients, physicians, employees and communities,” said Dr. Ralph de la Torre, CEO of Steward, said in a press release.

“Over the last few months, we have secured bridge financing and progressed the sale of our Stewardship Health business to help stabilize operations across all of our hospitals. Due to the delay in closing the Stewardship Health transaction, Steward was forced to seek alternative methods to bridge its operations,” he added.

He also pointed to what he said was inadequate reimbursement from government payers consequently of declining reimbursement rates at a time of skyrocketing costs.

Torre said that by filing for bankruptcy protection, Steward can be higher in a position to “responsibly transfer ownership of its Massachusetts-based hospitals, keep all hospitals open to treat patients, and ensure the continued care and support of our patients and our communities.” to make sure.”

In March, the corporate announced it had reached an agreement to sell its nationwide physician network to Optum, a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group, to stabilize its funds.

The move got here as Gov. Maura Healey said state monitors were keeping track of health care facilities operated by Steward Health Care in Massachusetts, including hospitals in a few of the state's poorer communities.

Massachusetts Democratic Senate President Karen Spilka said Monday that her “immediate concern continues to be the quality and continuity of care for the thousands of patients within the Steward system.”