WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Ralph de la Torre will step down as CEO of troubled Steward Health Care next week, the company said on Saturday, after he was found in criminal contempt by the U.S. Senate for refusing to testify about cost-cutting decisions before the U.S. Senate . group’s 31 hospitals before filing for bankruptcy.
In a statement, the Dallas-based company said de la Torre would no longer serve as CEO and chairman 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 separated from Steward on mutually acceptable terms,” and “he will remain a tireless advocate for improving reimbursement rates for the underserved 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 Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, which was investigating Steward’s financial problems. De la Torre was subpoenaed to attend the hearing.
Steward, the largest private hospital network in the U.S., filed for bankruptcy in May in an effort to sell all its hospitals and address a $9 billion debt burden. 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 shine a much-needed spotlight on Massachusetts’ continued failure to fix its health care structure and inequities in the state system,” his statement said. spokesman.
A number of hospitals affected by Steward’s financial problems were located in Massachusetts.
(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Paul Simao)
