Lawmakers urge Gov. Healey to intervene; Wu vows to block any redevelopment at Carney campus

New information this week about a potential buyer for Carney Hospital that was apparently not disclosed by Steward Health Care and other parties to its bankruptcy case in Texas is fueling calls for the Healey administration to re-think its position and fight harder to keep the Dorchester hospital — and a second medical center in Ayer, Mass— open.

The lobbying effort aimed at the governor and her cabinet comes after Mayor Wu sent a firm warning to Steward and its landlord that she intends to block any effort to redevelop Carney’s Dorchester Avenue campus for anything other than “the provision of health care.”

On Monday, a group of state lawmakers and city councillors sent a letter to Gov. Healey urging her to reject Steward’s request to expedite the closure of Carney and a second Steward-owned site, Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer, Mass, by Aug. 31. The letter also calls on Healey and her Health and Human Services Secretary, Kate Walsh, to “reach out to any prospective hospital bidder, including Massachusetts healthcare networks, to purchase both hospitals.”

The leaders, including state Senators Nick Collins and Liz Miranda representing Dorchester, also urge Healey to “provide bridge funding to keep” Carney and Nashoba “in operation while negotiations for buyers of the two hospitals continue.”

Other signatories to the letter include City Councillors Erin Murphy, Ed Flynn and John FitzGerald, along with eight other state lawmakers from communities that would be impacted by a Nashoba closure.

Last Thursday, Healey told reporters that her office would push to compel Steward to adhere to state guidelines that require a 120-day notice before any hospital closure. It marked a slight shift for the governor, who had previously suggested she could do nothing to halt the closures.

For her part, Walsh – pointing to Steward’s claim that they had no “qualified bids” for Carney or Nashoba – said that “the market has spoken.”

But on Monday, news reports revealed that a Michigan-based company had in fact made an offer for all the Steward properties, including Carney and Nashoba. An executive at Insight, which operates hospitals in Michigan, Illinois, and New Jersey, confirmed the bid.

“Insight made a bid for all of Steward's Massachusetts hospitals and we indicated a willingness to negotiate terms and lease payments,” Atif Bawahab, Insight’s chief strategy officer, said in a statement to WBUR. “A mutual agreement was not reached, but we remain interested in being part of the solution to keep the hospitals' doors open.”

Steward officials have refused to comment on the matter.

Last Thursday, Wu put Carney Hospital’s landlord on notice that she intends to block any attempt to “capitalize on the closure of Carney Hospital by redeveloping the property.”

In a letter to Edward Aldag, the chairman and CEO of Medical Properties Trust (MPT) – the company that owns the Carney campus – Wu wrote: “I would like to be absolutely clear that my Administration will oppose any effort by ownership to rezone the property for uses other than the provision of health care.”

Maria Pham, R.N. and Dr. Jean Bonnet at Monday's Carney Hospital rally. Seth Daniel photo

Wu’s letter noted that the Carney site at 2100 Dorchester Ave. is currently zoned as Multi-Family Residential, which allows for residential housing, but only a specific type up to “3 stories or 35 feet”— roughly the size of a traditional Dorchester three-decker.

“This zoning supports maintaining the site as a hospital/health care facility due to how difficult to would be to accomplish a financially feasible alternative use that is compliant with the existing zoning,” Wu said, later adding: “Any change to zoning would require review by multiple boards and commissions and my Administration will oppose any efforts by your representatives to secure one.”

The Wu letter marked a new front in the city’s public campaign to save Carney and was seen as an important lever needed to convince Steward and its various creditors that they needed to make a course correction in the case of Carney specifically.

Sources familiar with the tightly held bidding process say Carney’s nearly 12-acre campus property has been deemed more profitable to sell off as a redevelopment opportunity to benefit the various parties to Steward’s bankruptcy case. The city currently lists the property’s assessed value at $76 million, according tax records, although the market-rate value is likely significantly higher.

In her two-page letter, Wu reminds the two executives that her office “has committed to cooperate fully in any state and federal investigation of illegal conduct by you and other entities involved in Steward’s collapse.

“We will also hold you to your financial and maintenance obligations as large property owners. In the meantime, we wish to clearly communicate that, as to the hospital property, my Administration is opposed to any proposals that would allow you to take further advantage of this community.”

On Wednesday, the Boston City Council is expected to discuss a resolution introduced by City Councillors John FitzGerald and Ed Flynn that urge the city and the Commonwealth to declare a public health emergency in light of the potential Carney closing. The resolution also calls on the city and state to “be prepared… to seize the property through eminent domain and to continue to operate the facility until a permanent operator is found.”

City Council President Ruthzee Louijeune said on Monday that she is still reviewing the resolution while noting that the revelations about a potential buyer for Carney is "new information."

"It’s incredibly important that we be able to vet Insight and see whether they actually are a viable bidder and potentially an operator for Carney," Louijeune said.

She added: “It seems like a Steward money grab for this property and the mayor has made it very clear that that site will only be used for health care purposes going forward.”

Flynn agreed, telling The Reporter: “I think that the city of Boston and the Commonwealth have a responsibility to look at the bid and it seems to me that it was a serious bid. It should have been worth us at least pursuing it and give the community a chance to hear and see the details.

“I think the city of Boston can declare a public health emergency that will provide us an opportunity to explore ways to keep Carney open,” he said. “I recognize that it might be a long shot, but the patients and workforce deserve our best effort to do that.”

Also on Monday, a group of about 100 nurses and patients gathered outside Carney Hospital to reinforce the calls for city and state interventions to prevent the anticipated Aug. 31 closure. Several of the speakers directed tough critiques at Healey and Walsh, alleging that the state administration was essentially abandoning low-income patients in Dorchester and surrounding communities.

Union organizers and civic leaders are circulating fliers in Dorchester and Mattapan today calling for constituents and patients to turn out for a rally in support of Carney Hospital before tomorrow's council meeting at noon.

Meanwhile in Ayer on Tuesday night, the Select Board is holding a special meeting to discuss declaring a public health emergency in an effort to save Nashoba, according to the Massachusetts Nurses Association. The agenda also includes a state legislative delegation update about the pending closure.

Sen. Jamie Eldridge, who will speak at the Ayer meeting, said he and his fellow elected officials in the region will recommend that Ayer request a public health emergency declaration from Gov. Maura Healey at today's special meeting. Eldridge said he expects the Ayer Select Board will also support a resolution calling for Healey to formally notify Steward that they must adhere to a 120-day notification policy before attempting to close any facility. The resolution will also call for state funds to be made available to keep Nashoba Valley Medical operational until a new buyer is identified.

Eldridge told the Reporter that he and his colleagues have seen a "shift" happening in recent days from the Healey administration that could offer a path towards an alternate solution to the Carney-Nashoba closures.

"We are grateful to the governor for indicating that the DPH will enforce its 120-day regulation," said Eldridge. "It's crunch time."

A State House News Service report was used to contribute to this story.