BOSTON, Mass. — Nashoba Valley Medical Center is now closed, but efforts to find a new path forward for the hospital are continuing as Steward Health Care CEO Ralph de la Torre finds himself in hot water for failing to comply with a subpoena to appear before a Senate committee.

During a Thursday morning press conference with union leaders and other elected officials, Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) accused de la Torre of shielding himself behind corporate lawyers who claim he can’t testify due to ongoing bankruptcy proceedings.

They believe he’s actually worried about facing questions on what he may have been spending Steward’s money on as hospitals went broke.

“Ralph de la Torre has shown contempt for our health care system, and now the United States must bring contempt charges against Ralph de la Torre,” Markey said.

Markey said in order to hold de la Torre in contempt, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee would have to vote on it before a vote in the full U.S. Senate.

Warren said lawmakers have plenty of questions they’d like to ask, and de la Torre shouldn’t be allowed to dodge them without consequences.

“Ralph de la Torre is one more rich guy who thinks the rules don't apply to him,” Warren said. “He seems to think he's above the law, and that he can take whatever he wants and not have to answer for any of the destruction that he leaves behind. Congress has questions to ask, and if Mr. de la Torre believes the answers will put him at risk for going to jail, he can take the Fifth Amendment right out in public for everyone to see.”

A recent exposé by the Boston Globe revealed several alleged examples of de la Torre dipping into Steward Health Care money for personal expenses.

in 2022, he reportedly donated $10 million to fund a new science center at the school his children attend, claiming the money was from his family foundation. It was allegedly Steward Health Care’s money.

Nurses like Ellen MacInnis of St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center believe in their hospitals, $10 million could’ve gone a long way.

“Those of us in the trenches of his depleted and embattled hospitals were forced to care for patients and understaffed units with broken and missing equipment and missing supplies,” MacInnis said. “The nurses brought in their own food to feed diabetic patients at night when the kitchen was closed and we had no options. An innocent mother died because the piece of equipment that could have saved her life had been repossessed by an unpaid vendor.”

De la Torre’s alleged spending didn’t stop there. According to the Globe, court documents, flight records and company financials confirm he secured an expensive apartment, vacation flights and raked in millions in management fees for business deals involving Steward Health Care and other companies he has an ownership stake in.

Markey said de la Torre’s actions showcase why he and Warren’s proposed Corporate Crimes Against Health Care Act is important. The bill would create a new criminal penalty of up to six years in prison for executives who "loot health care entities like nursing homes and hospitals if that looting results in a patient death.”

“Steward Health Care is not an exception, it is an example of a broader pattern of how corporate greed costs lives,” Markey said. “Greedy corporate executives recklessly pillage the health care system on behalf of themselves and their investors. And when the dollar comes first, patients always come last.”