Melbourne, Rockledge hospitals going up for sale as part of bankruptcy deal

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – Two Brevard County hospitals will go up for auction later this year as part of a bankruptcy deal for their parent company.

Several media outlets, including CNN, report that an attorney for Steward Health Care told a federal bankruptcy judge that the company will put all 31 hospitals it operates nationwide, including Melbourne Regional Medical Center and Rockledge Regional Medical Center in Brevard County, up for auction.

The company is reorganizing under Chapter 11 to address its $9 billion in liabilities, including nearly $1 billion in unpaid bills from medical vendors and $290 million in unpaid employee wages and benefits.

Steward had tried to stave off bankruptcy by selling its Stewardship Health physician group to Optum, part of UnitedHealthcare, but a delay in regulatory approvals has held up that deal.

Steward will put its eight Florida hospitals up for sale on July 30. The company hopes to keep the hospitals operating while the sale happens. The rest of the company’s hospitals will go up for sale on June 28.

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