{"id":108217,"date":"2024-09-29T05:31:47","date_gmt":"2024-09-28T22:31:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=108217"},"modified":"2024-09-29T05:31:47","modified_gmt":"2024-09-28T22:31:47","slug":"steward-health-care-ceo-ralph-de-la-torre-resigns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=108217","title":{"rendered":"Steward Health Care CEO Ralph de la Torre resigns"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"paragraph | gutter_20_0\"><span class=\"html-render\">A Steward spokesperson did not say on Saturday if de la Torre will remain a major shareholder in the company he helped found in Boston in 2010.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph | gutter_20_0\"><span class=\"html-render\">De la Torre, the subject of several <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bostonglobe.com\/metro\/investigations\/spotlight\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Globe Spotlight Team reports<\/a> this summer, confirmed through his personal spokesperson that he has \u201camicably separated\u201d from Steward.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph | gutter_20_0\"><span class=\"html-render\">\u201cDr. de la Torre urges continued focus on this mission and believes Steward\u2019s financial challenges put a much-needed spotlight on Massachusetts\u2019s ongoing failure to fix its healthcare structure and the inequities in its state system,\u201d read a statement from his spokesperson, Rebecca Kral.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph | gutter_20_0\"><span class=\"html-render\">Initial reaction to the end of de la Torre\u2019s reign at Steward was harsh.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph | gutter_20_0\"><span class=\"html-render\">\u201cFourteen years too late,\u201d said Ellen MacInnis, a nurse at St. Elizabeth\u2019s Medical Center, who testified at a congressional hearing about concerning and unsafe conditions at the Brighton hospital due to years of Steward\u2019s neglect.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph | gutter_20_0\"><span class=\"html-render\">Julie Pinkham, executive director of the Massachusetts Nurses Association, said, \u201cWe hope such a move in no way diminishes a full review with full accountability for all that has occurred under his watch.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph | gutter_20_0\"><span class=\"html-render\">Paul Hattis, a senior fellow at the Lown Institute, a health care think tank in Needham, noted the bankruptcy process had effectively already removed de la Torre from the day-to-day control of the company.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph | gutter_20_0\"><span class=\"html-render\">\u201cFrom the perspective of trying to bring value to a health care organization and the people that it serves, he resigned many, many years ago,\u201d Hattis said. \u201cIt all became about him, and not the mission.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph | gutter_20_0\"><span class=\"html-render\">Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, bid \u201cgood riddance\u201d to de la Torre, in a statement. \u201cRalph spent nearly two decades sucking every last bit of value out of Steward Health Care, and while the hospitals got poorer, he got richer.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph | gutter_20_0\"><span class=\"html-render\">On Wednesday, the Senate <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bostonglobe.com\/2024\/09\/25\/business\/ralph-de-la-torre-contempt-charge-senate-justice-department\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">unanimously moved<\/a> to refer a criminal contempt charge to the Justice Department after de la Torre <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bostonglobe.com\/2024\/09\/18\/business\/steward-ceo-ralph-de-la-torre-congress-testify-fifth-amendment\/?p1=Article_Inline_Text_Link\">ignored a congressional subpoena<\/a> to testify before one of its committees.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph | gutter_20_0\"><span class=\"html-render\">Warren said de la Torre\u2019s resignation would not absolve him from accountability, and that he would still have to answer for failing to respond to the subpoena. \u201cRalph is not off the hook yet \u2014 the authorities still need to prosecute Ralph\u2019s contempt charges and investigate him for other possible crimes he may have committed as Steward\u2019s CEO,\u201d Warren said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph | gutter_20_0\"><span class=\"html-render\">De la Torre was essential to the founding of Steward. As CEO of the former Caritas Christi hospital chain, a struggling network of six Massachusetts hospitals owned by the Boston Archdiocese, de la Torre sought out investors that could recapitalize Caritas. He ultimately struck a deal with the New York private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management, which bought the hospitals and put them under a new affiliated company, Steward. De la Torre remained at the head of the for-profit business and immediately set out to grow the chain.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph | gutter_20_0\"><span class=\"html-render\">After growing slowly and struggling to maintain a profit, Steward in 2016 made a $1.2 billion deal with Medical Properties Trust, a real estate investment trust, under which MPT came to own Steward\u2019s hospital buildings and land, which Steward leased back. Most of the windfall from the sale went not to improve care, but to pay dividends to Steward\u2019s owners, including de la Torre. High lease obligations to MPT contributed to Steward\u2019s unbearable debt, around $9 billion, according to bankruptcy filings.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph | gutter_20_0\"><span class=\"html-render\">De la Torre\u2019s abrupt resignation comes at a time when many observers were questioning why he was still atop Steward, when he faces possible prison time for defying a congressional subpoena and is being investigated by US and international grand juries.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph | gutter_20_0\"><span class=\"html-render\">De la Torre\u2019s ability to hold onto power until now was largely a function of Steward\u2019s board of directors, whose job it is to hire or fire the CEO and launch investigations of alleged misconduct.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph | gutter_20_0\"><span class=\"html-render\">The board \u2014 a tight-knit circle of company insiders and close business associates who reported directly to de la Torre \u2014 has been silent on the CEO\u2019s travails, and remained so with Saturday\u2019s announcement. The board\u2019s inaction had alarmed many inside and outside the company, who said it was a textbook case of corporate cronyism and the perils of insular boards.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph | gutter_20_0\"><span class=\"html-render\">Starting in July, the Globe reached out multiple times to every person who served on Steward\u2019s board in the last four years about their oversight of the company and knowledge of de la Torre\u2019s financial dealings. All either declined to comment for the record or did not respond to interview requests.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph | gutter_20_0\"><span class=\"html-render\">\u201cTwo questions,\u201d said Lawrence A. Cunningham, director of the Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware, after de la Torre\u2019s announcement: \u201cWhy did it take so long for the board to act? And why did they choose to accept his resignation instead of terminating him for cause? Termination for cause would have eliminated any ongoing perks, while resignation allows those benefits to continue.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph | gutter_20_0\"><span class=\"html-render\">In Quincy, Catherina Brancaccio received the de la Torre news with shock and dismay. For three years, Brancaccio and her family have been seeking accountability for the death in 2021 of her 31-year-old nephew, Gilberto Melendez-Brancaccio, <a href=\"https:\/\/apps.bostonglobe.com\/metro\/investigations\/spotlight\/2024\/09\/steward-hospitals\/steward-for-profit-hospitals-investigation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">who died alone<\/a> in an understaffed emergency department in Steward-owned Carney Hospital, now closed, in Dorchester.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph | gutter_20_0\"><span class=\"html-render\">\u201cHe left a trail of death and chaos in his wake,\u201d said Brancaccio, of de la Torre. \u201cI pray that he will be held accountable despite his resignation.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph | gutter_20_0\"><span class=\"html-render\"><i>Hanna Krueger, Chris Serres, and Elizabeth Koh of the Globe staff contributed to this report.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<hr class=\"tagline_hr | border_foreground border_half gutter_20_28--mobile&#10;               margin_none text_align_left width_100px\"\/>\n<p class=\"tagline | font_primary inline_block  margin_top_32\">Mark Arsenault can be reached at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bostonglobe.com\/2024\/09\/28\/business\/ralph-de-la-torre-steward-health-care-ceo-resigns\/mailto:mark.arsenault@globe.com\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"font-size:inherit;letter-spacing:.5px\" rel=\"noopener\">mark.arsenault@globe.com<\/a>. Follow him <a href=\"https:\/\/www.twitter.com\/bostonglobemark\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"font-size:inherit;letter-spacing:.5px\" rel=\"noopener\">@bostonglobemark<\/a>. Jessica Bartlett can be reached at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bostonglobe.com\/2024\/09\/28\/business\/ralph-de-la-torre-steward-health-care-ceo-resigns\/mailto:jessica.bartlett@globe.com\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"font-size:inherit;letter-spacing:.5px\" rel=\"noopener\">jessica.bartlett@globe.com<\/a>. Follow her <a href=\"https:\/\/www.twitter.com\/ByJessBartlett\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"font-size:inherit;letter-spacing:.5px\" rel=\"noopener\">@ByJessBartlett<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\nvar oneTrustActive = true;\nvar oneTrustConsentObj;\ntry {\n oneTrustConsentObj = JSON.parse(window.localStorage.getItem('consent_one_trust_bgmp') || '{}');\n} catch (err) {\n oneTrustConsentObj = {};\n}\n\/\/ Default to granted consent\nvar consent=\"grant\"\n\/\/ FB script decleration\n!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s) {\n  if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n  if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n  n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n  t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n  s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s);\n}\n(window,document,'script', 'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\nif (oneTrustActive && oneTrustConsentObj && oneTrustConsentObj.C0004 === false) {\n  consent=\"revoke\";\n}\n\/\/ We need to call consent before we run init and track\nfbq('consent', consent);\nfbq('set', 'autoConfig', 'false', '884869448226452');\nfbq('set', 'autoConfig', 'false', '493062270895851');\nfbq('init', '884869448226452');\nfbq('track', 'PageView');\n<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><div data-type=\"_mgwidget\" data-widget-id=\"1660802\">\r\n<\/div>\r\n<script>(function(w,q){w[q]=w[q]||[];w[q].push([\"_mgc.load\"])})(window,\"_mgq\");\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bostonglobe.com\/2024\/09\/28\/business\/ralph-de-la-torre-steward-health-care-ceo-resigns\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Steward spokesperson did not say on Saturday if de la Torre will remain a major shareholder in the company he helped found in Boston in 2010. De la Torre, &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=108217\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-108217","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-business","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108217","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=108217"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108217\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=108217"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=108217"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=108217"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}