The bankrupt Steward Health Care said Friday that it is closing two of its hospitals here in the next month or so -- Carney Hospital in Dorchester and Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer -- that received no qualified bids in its sales process.

"Over the past several months, Steward Health Care has been actively working to sell or transition all its Massachusetts hospitals and we are in active final negotiations to sell six of them. Despite the extensive sale process, which involved close coordination with lenders and regulators, there were no qualified bids for two hospitals, Carney Hospital and Nashoba Valley Medical Center, and, unfortunately, they will be closing on or around August 31, 2024," the company said Friday morning. "This is a challenging and unfortunate situation, and the effect it will have on our patients, our employees, and the communities we serve is regrettable. We will do all we can to ensure a smooth transition for those affected while continuing to provide quality care to the patients we will continue to serve."

Gov. Maura Healey, who said her goal was to protect jobs and access to care at all of Steward's eight hospital facilities in Massachusetts, said Friday morning: "This is not over."

"It’s regrettable that Ralph de la Torre and Steward’s greed and mismanagement are resulting in the closures of Carney and Nashoba Valley hospitals. These hospitals have long served their communities – their closures are about more than the loss of beds, doctors, and nurses. We want to assure the people of Massachusetts that we have prepared diligently for this moment and will take all available steps to help facilitate a smooth transition for impacted patients and employees," the governor said.

She added, "For the remaining hospitals, we know that Steward received several bids to not only maintain but improve five of their hospitals in three key regions. It is time for Steward and their real estate partners to finally put the communities they serve over their own selfish greed. They need to finalize these deals that are in their best interest and the best interest of patients and workers."

State law and regulations require any provider planning to close an essential service to notify the Department of Public Health at least 120 days in advance and then provide a formal notice 90 days before the planned closure. It was unclear Friday morning how Steward's announcement that the Dorchester and Ayer hospitals would close around the end of August comports with the state's requirements.

There is a litany of checkpoints along the way. DPH must publish a notice of a public hearing on the closure at least 81 days out and hold the hearing at least 60 days before the closure would take effect.

Within 15 days of that public hearing, DPH is to provide the hospital with a determination as to whether the service provided by the hospital is necessary for preserving access and health status within the hospital’s service area. If DPH deems the service necessary, the hospital is required to submit a plan to DPH for assuring access within 15 days, and the two sides can go back and forth a bit until there are 10 days remaining until the closure, according to the Division of Health Care Facility Licensure and Certification at DPH.

However, even if regulators find the service is crucial to maintaining care, they cannot legally require a hospital to keep a service open to the public. DPH can only call for a provider to submit a plan outlining what patients will do after a closure and conduct post-closure monitoring, not block any service from shutting down.