Norwood Hospital Will Be Abandoned, 4 Clinics Closing: Reports

NORWOOD, MA — Four years after it shut its doors due to severe flood damage, and several months after its parent company filed for bankruptcy, Norwood Hospital is being abandoned and four connected outpatient clinics are closing, according to multiple reports.

The hospital was initially going to be rebuilt and hospital officials said they hoped to find a new owner, but construction plans were halted due to the bankruptcy, WCVB reported.

Now, Norwood Hospital plus the Norwood Performance Therapy in Norwood, Norwood Hospital Cancer Care Center in Foxborough, and the Guild Imaging Center of Norwood Hospital in Norwood are set to close by Nov. 5, according to Boston25 and WCVB.

"The majority of current outpatients will complete their treatment prior to the closure date and, if necessary, provided with information and assistance to make follow-up appointments with replacement providers," the bankruptcy filing, which was obtained by WCVB, said. "Any patients who need longer treatment will be notified of the anticipated closure and will be transferred, along with their medical record information, to an outpatient clinic in the area or an outpatient clinic of their choice."

Last month, a judge approved the sale of Steward's six remaining Massachusetts hospitals, according to WCVB. The hospitals that will remain open were transferred to new hospitals. Lifespan now operates Morton Hospital and Saint Anne’s Hospital; Lawrence General Hospital now operates Holy Family Hospital-Methuen and Holy Family Hospital-Haverhill; and Boston Medical Center operates Good Samaritan and St. Elizabeth's.

A Senate committee voted in July to authorize an investigation into the bankruptcy of Steward Health Care and to subpoena the company’s CEO, Dr. Ralph de la Torre. De la Torre resigned from Steward Health Care last week, the Boston Globe reported.

Chair Senator Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent, said the Steward bankruptcy shows the dangers of allowing private equity executives to make huge amounts of money by taking over hospitals, loading them up with debt, and stripping their assets.

"Perhaps more than anyone else in America, a dubious distinction no doubt, Ralph de la Torre, CEO of Steward Health Care, epitomizes the type of outrageous corporate greed that is permeating throughout our for-profit health care system," Sanders said.

U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, who has repeatedly called out the harms of private equity ownership on health care costs and quality of care, added in part that "De la Torre and Steward's entire executive team need to be stripped from their roles at the company, and investigated for any wrongdoing."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.