MEDIA ADVISORY: HELP Committee Announces Second Panel Witness List for Bipartisan Steward Health Hearing

WASHINGTON, Sept. 10 - Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Ranking Member Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-La.) today announced the witnesses who will provide testimony on the second panel for HELP's hearing on the impacts of Steward Health Care's bankruptcy. The hearing, titled "Examining the Bankruptcy of Steward Health Care: How Management Decisions Have Impacted Patient Care," will take place this Thursday, September 12 at 10:00 a.m.

"Gaining more information about the management decisions of Dr. Ralph de la Torre is essential to understand Steward Health Care's financial problems that have impacted more than 30 hospitals across eight states. It is our hope that Dr. de la Torre changes his mind, complies with the subpoena, and provides needed testimony to inform legislative solutions to prevent this situation from happening again," said Sanders and Cassidy. "Regardless of his attendance, the committee will move forward and also hear from health professionals and leaders from communities impacted by Steward's mismanagement."

Details
What: Hearing of the Senate HELP Committee on, "Examining the Bankruptcy of Steward Health Care: How Management Decisions Have Impacted Patient Care"
When: 10:00 a.m., Thursday, September 12, 2024
Where: Room 562, Dirksen Senate Office Building. The hearing will also be livestreamed on the HELP Committee's website and Sanders' social media pages.
Who:
Panel I

• Dr. Ralph de la Torre, Chief Executive Officer, Steward Health Care System, Dallas, TX

Panel II

• Ellen MacInnis, R.N., Nurse at St. Elizabeth's Medical Center, Boston, MA
• Audra Sprague, R.N., Former Nurse at Nashoba Valley Medical Center, Lunenburg, MA
• Rep. Michael Charles Echols, Louisiana House of Representatives, Monroe, LA
• Mayor Staci Albritton Mitchell, West Monroe, LA