Ralph de la Torre, CEO of bankrupt Steward Health Care, to resign

Steward Health Care CEO Dr. Ralph de la Torre will resign as leader of the national for-profit hospital system on Oct. 1, according to statements from the company and a spokeswoman for de la Torre.

De la Torre’s resignation comes as proceedings continue in Steward’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which so far have resulted in the closure or planned transfer of seven Massachusetts hospitals.

In a statement, spokeswoman Rebecca Kral of Longacre Square Partners said the embattled health care executive “amicably separated from Steward on mutually agreeable terms.”

“He will continue to be a tireless advocate for the improvement of reimbursement rates for the underprivileged patient population,” the statement added. “Dr. de la Torre urges continued focus on this mission and believes Steward’s financial challenges put a much-needed spotlight on Massachusetts’s ongoing failure to fix its healthcare structure and the inequities in its state system.”

The statement from Steward noted the company and de la Torre agreed to part ways a little more than a week ago.

The announcement also comes just days after members of the U.S. Senate unanimously approved a measure intended to hold the former heart surgeon in criminal contempt for refusing to testify before a congressional panel about his company’s financial woes.

De la Torre’s lawyers said testifying would violate their client’s Fifth Amendment rights, and he would not “be intimidated” by the “threat of prosecution.”

Earlier this year, several former supporters of de la Torre blamed the company’s financial crisis on greed and centered much of their criticism on the CEO’s actions.

Steward has operated nine hospitals in the state and filed for bankruptcy protections last May. Two of the hospitals were closed. The company is set to exit the hospital business in Massachusetts by Tuesday, when its five remaining hospitals will turnover to three separate nonprofit owners.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.