Gardner, Mass.-based Heywood Healthcare has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection due to a variety of challenges that "hinder[ed] its sustainability."
The independent health system includes Heywood Hospital in Gardner, Athol (Mass.) Hospital, Heywood Medical Group and the Quabbin Retreat — an addiction treatment center in Petersham, Mass.
"Heywood Hospital has stood independently for 116 years, while navigating national and local challenges, which include Heywood being one of the lowest commercially reimbursed hospitals in the Commonwealth. Athol Hospital has operated for 73 years, and remains a hallmark critical access hospital. Though our health system has stood the test of time, we are not impervious to financial challenges," Tom Sullivan, co-CEO of Heywood Healthcare, said in an Oct. 2 news release shared with Becker's
The move to file for bankruptcy comes at the end of a tumultuous year for the health system, during which it saw its long-term President and CEO Win Brown leave the position after 12 years, faced a "costly and lengthy" electronic medical record transition, and cut off a deal to affiliate with Worcester, Mass.-based UMass Memorial Health.
Read more about Heywood's decision here.