PHOENIX (AZFamily) — The future of four hospitals in Arizona owned by Steward Health Care remains uncertain despite some interest from potential buyers.
A bankruptcy court hearing scheduled for Tuesday was continued after Steward asked to postpone it until Wednesday.
The state suspended operations at St. Luke’s Behavioral Health Center last month after the air conditioning broke, forcing them to move nearly 100 patients to other facilities.
It’s not clear whether St. Luke’s will ever reopen amid the state’s plans to remove its license and looming bankruptcy proceedings.
“Everything is up in the air and I love working at St Luke’s. I love the patients,” one worker told Arizona’s Family, who wishes to remain anonymous.
The employee is among more than 200 furloughed employees at St. Luke’s who have been out of work for more than two weeks.
“It’s been rough,” they said. “It is hitting my pockets a little bit.”
The caregiver they got another job and says that, for now, they can pick up shifts at other nearby facilities owned by Steward.
Still, being in limbo has been stressful since the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) shut down the hospital.
ADHS says it plans to revoke the license due to multiple serious violations that pose an immediate danger.
“It was a crisis,” said the anonymous employee. “I feel that they tried their best.”
This employee doesn’t feel the issues are local leadership’s fault but that Steward is to blame. The health care provider has been under fire for months since declaring bankruptcy in May.
More than 30 of Steward’s hospitals across the country are being auctioned off in court or have been forced to close.
“I hope that we get bought, you know, especially behavioral health because it’s definitely needed,” the anonymous worker said. “It’s something that the community needs. That’s a lot of beds, a lot of patients that we can help that don’t have a place to go or aren’t being accepted by different other facilities because they can’t meet their needs.”
The state health department did not answer questions about the latest development in St. Luke’s license suspension.
In the meantime, bankruptcy court continues in Texas at 6 a.m. Arizona time on Wednesday.
Arizona’s Family obtained the following statement from the Arizona Attorney General’s Office:
“The Arizona hearing [Tuesday] was to address Steward seeking approval of an agreement between it and its landlord, MPT. It has been continued until tomorrow. Attorney General Mayes is closely monitoring this situation to ensure the best interests of Arizonans are protected during this process.”
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Publish date : 2024-09-10 19:16:00
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