WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Ralph de la Torre will resign as CEO of troubled Steward Health Care next week, the company said on Saturday, after the U.S. Senate found him guilty of criminal contempt for refusing to testify about decisions of cost reduction in Congress. the group's 31 hospitals before declaring bankruptcy.
In a statement, the Dallas-based company said de la Torre would no longer be its CEO and president effective Oct. 1 as part of an agreement in principle reached earlier this month.
A spokesperson for De la Torre confirmed that the former cardiac surgeon “has amicably parted ways with Steward on mutually acceptable terms” and “will continue to be a tireless advocate for improving reimbursement rates for the disadvantaged patient population.”
The Senate voted unanimously Wednesday to charge de la Torre with criminal contempt of Congress after he refused to attend a Sept. 12 hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which was investigating the financial problems. of Steward. De la Torre had been summoned to attend the hearing.
Steward, the largest private hospital network in the United States, filed for bankruptcy in May, seeking to sell all of its hospitals and address $9 billion in debt. The company has sold several hospitals since that filing.
“Dr. de la Torre urges continued focus on this mission and believes Steward's financial challenges highlight Massachusetts' much-needed failure to fix its health care structure and the inequities in its state system,” his spokesperson said. .
Several hospitals affected by Steward's financial problems were based in Massachusetts.
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