Steward Health Care System LLC today finalised a public-private partnership to “deliver exceptional health care to the people of Malta”, the company said in a statement. Steward, which is physician-led and the largest private hospital operator in the United States, is now the government of Malta’s health care partner and will run a number of public medical facilities in the country, it said.

The deal is surrounded by huge political controversy as Steward takes over a concession initially granted to Vitals Global Healthcare. Only yesterday, the Nationalist Party filed legal action to stop the deal and rescind the agreement reached with Vitals. The concession to Vitals was to run St Luke's Hospital, Karin Grech Hospital and the Gozo Hospital.

No financial details were given in the statement.

In a separate statement, the Government "welcomes this development and remains fully committed to ensure that all obligations as set out in the concession agreement are adhered to, which ensures the completion of world-class facilities for the Gozo General Hospital, St Luke’s Hospital and Karin Grech Hospital as well as setting up the renowned Barts Medical School in Malta."

“Steward’s innovative care model has successfully helped patients across the United States receive high-quality care while reducing medical expenses,” said Dr Ralph de la Torre, Chairman and CEO of Steward Health Care. “We look forward to implementing this new model of exceptional care in Malta. We will invest in the medical facilities entrusted to us, upgrading them into state-of the-art hospitals, and will help ensure that the Maltese people live healthy, active lives.” 

In a statement issued in Boston, Steward says it has transformed health care in America by turning around struggling hospitals and embedding them in a new, comprehensive delivery model that is designed to support local communities and produce better health outcomes for patients. Today, Steward is the largest private hospital operator in the United States with 36 community hospitals across ten states. The company employs approximately 40,000 health care professionals. Steward hospitals regularly receive top awards for quality and safety, including the “Gold Ribbon Seal in Healthcare” from the Joint Commission on Accreditation and an “A” rating for Hospital Safety from the Leapfrog Group.

“Steward Health Care shares our same vision for the future of healthcare in Malta,” said Prime Minister Joseph Muscat was quoted as saying by Steward. “Our resolve to upgrade Malta and Gozo’s healthcare services to world-class levels has been given a further boost through this partnership. With its impressive track-record, Steward is the ideal partner to realise such a critical infrastructural upgrade of our hospitals while offering the best medical services to patients.”

Through the public-private partnership that resulted from Steward’s purchase of Vitals Global Healthcare’s concessions to run facilities entrusted to it, Steward will also construct and run campus facilities for Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, and offer Steward hospitals as teaching facilities for medical students. Steward intends to invest in these facilities so that they stay and thrive in Malta.

“Steward has achieved extraordinary results in the United States, by pioneering a new model for care that rewards doctors and nurses for keeping patients healthy and close to home,” said Armin Ernst, President of Steward Health Care International LLC. “We look forward to bringing this model, and Steward’s innovative technology, to the people of Malta so they receive world-class care that remains free.”

Steward said it has built some of the most innovative health care technologies in the United States, which have been at the heart of the company’s success in improving care for patients. These technology-enabled platforms help to predict diseases and illnesses before they spread, reduce excess time a patient spends in the hospital, and leverage analytics to help administrators plan appropriate staffing levels. Steward also utilizes state-of-the-art electronic medical records (EMR) and electronic intensive care units (eICU) across its system. The company intends to deploy these technologies in Malta.